The point of Article 50
Sir: I read Paul Collier’s article in your 23 February issue, which has just reached me in la France profonde, with interest. The principal author of Article 50 was John Kerr, aka Lord Kerr of Kinlochard. I have known John for quite a long time, and enjoyed his company: when I became chancellor in 1983 he was my principal private secretary. He explained to me some time ago, before the referendum, that the purpose of Article 50 was to make it as difficult as possible for a country to leave the European Union. A clever man, he did a good job.
Nigel Lawson
House of Lords, London SW1
Support local TV stations
Sir: That much local journalism is impoverished to the detriment of democratic accountability is regrettable and true (‘Read all about it’, 2 March). However it is not only local radio stations and publications that are suffering.
KMTV, the local television service for Kent and Medway, is working to uphold localism. Every day, our team of journalists — supported by student interns from the University of Kent — produce twice as much news reporting for Kent as BBC South East and ITV Meridian combined. They do so on a budget that is a fraction of the one available to their BBC regional rivals. Our reporters are familiar figures at Kent County Council and Medway Council and at the courts in Canterbury, Maidstone and Medway. They have reported live from College Green and Downing Street, bringing the views of Kent MPs straight to their constituents.
When Jeremy Hunt told the Oxford Media Convention in 2011 that local television stations could offer ‘a new voice for local communities, with local perspectives that are directly relevant to them’, we took him seriously.
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