Subtler than you think
From Lord Garel-Jones Sir: Your vision of brave little Blighty, rep- resented by Stephen Byers, batting for Britain in Seattle (Leader, 4 December), is a seductive one. I fear, however, that Mr Byers would be relegated, if not to dressing up as a turtle along with the other protesters outside the conference chamber, 'He only works one day a year. . . typical northerner.'
at least to wandering aimlessly around inside it looking in vain for allies.
Your dismissal of Pascal Lamy — 'he is French and so, fundamentally, is his negoti- ating position' — is more a reflection of your own view than of his. When I had responsibility for these matters and yon, now The Spectator editor, for the Daily Tele- graph in Brussels, I gave you my direct number at the Foreign Office. You never used it. By the same token, were you to talk to M. Lamy you might find that he is, indeed, a brilliant &argue but that his views are rather more shaded and subtle than it suits you to recognise.
In these matters the choice for Britain is between giving up sovereignty to the USA or sharing it with others in Europe; neither is an easy or seductive alternative, but that is the choice.
Tristan Garel-Jones
House of Lords, London SW1
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