Sorry state of a fez
Sir: Mr Paul Johnson is mistaken in his belief that the Times 'turned down' the story of Mr Jonathan Aitken having his bill at l'Hotel Ritz paid, at least in part, by a Saudi businessman while he was defence minister for procurement (And another thing, 31 December). I mentioned this extraordinary lapse in ministerial standards of conduct only to Mr Peter Preston, the editor of the Guardian. I did so because I knew that he was investigating various aspects of sleaze in public life. Mr Preston might have claimed that he found Mr Aitken's bill in the street, but in order to protect his source he decided on a course of action which he knew would result in personal attacks by people like Mr Johnson, who seems more of a propagan- dist and less of a journalist with every polemic. Perhaps an Egyptian grocer — as The Spectator has accurately described me — might be permitted to remind Mr John- son that the first duty of a journalist is the truthful disclosure of matters of legitimate public interest.
M Al Fayed
Chairman, Harrods, 87/135 Brompton Road, London SW1
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