CONSIDER this situation, entirely hypothetical of course. Parish councillor A makes accusations about fellow parish councillor B in a letter to a newspaper covering a wider area than the parish.

I think it is reasonable for B to reply to these accusations. If councillor C, being chairman of said parish council then writes to rebuke both A and B for bringing the parish council into disrepute, I think it is clear who is being treated unfairly in this exchange.

If that person then chooses to maintain a dignified silence, I think it is reasonable for a friend to write in their defence, even if that friend lives outside the parish.

Of course, this scenario could never occur in Swindon.

HOWARD MARCH Tudor Crescent, Swindon