Desperate, moi?
From Mr Philippe Le Com Sir: Peter Oborne (Politics, 19 October) referred to the Foreign Press Association as a 'fine Nash establishment, hard by the Turf Club, which has been the disconcertingly grand London base for a collection of mainly down-at-heel foreign journalists'. As someone who once welcomed Mr Oborne at the FPA to promote his own book on Alastair Campbell, I found his comments condescending and offensive.
Mr Oborne obviously has little regard for his foreign colleagues, and I have difficulties understanding how our financial status is relevant to the fact that the Downing Street briefing operation has 'commandeered' the FPA. We are proud to be a completely independent organisation, run by a committee of 12 foreign correspondents, and I can assure Mr Oborne that nobody is telling us what to do.
In a country like Britain, which wants to exert an international influence, it doesn't sound to me a bad idea to open briefings to the foreign press. In any case, as far as I can judge, all the briefings have been dominated by the Westminster lobby.
Philippe Le Corre
President, Foreign Press Association, London SW1
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