10 FEBRUARY 1967, Page 14

The Great Manny Mystery

SIR,—May I be allowed to correct Alan Watkins when he states (February 3) that Dr Balogh was 'first introduced to the mysteries of British politics . . . as speechwriter to Mr Shinwell'?

In fact the first recorded mention of Mr T. Balogh, as he then was, is far more bizarre. He appears as an adviser to, of all people, Harold Macmillan in the preparation of some pamphlets that the latter published in 1938 (see The Winds of Change, p. 589). It is amusing to speculate on what might have occurred had Dr Balogh not acquired new patrons subsequently.