24 JANUARY 1987, Page 21

LETTERS

Young Tebbit

Sir: Paul Johnson may be right to suggest (The press, 17 January) that Mr Tebbit's line — 'Nobody with a conscience votes Conservative' — which I reported in the ,Guardian, has a 'history' that needs to be unravelled'. To me it looks a little less complicated. But as a commentator on the press, Mr Johnson's own journalistic stan- dards cannot command much respect. Why did he not attempt any unravelling himself before asserting, without inquiry, that the quote was a 'fabrication'? It was not a fabrication, as several witnesses know. Nugo Young The Guardian, 119 Farringdon Road, London EC1