11 JULY 1987, Page 23

Sir: Steinbeck defined politicians as people who approach every problem

with an open mouth'. Chekhov considered it a writer's function to 'intercede for the guilty'. 'Should writers think?' by John Mortimer speaks up for those who feel guilty about eating well while others starve, or about 'our' so-called defence systems that threaten our planet. But perhaps politicians should also think more deeply: about whether being honour-bound' to toe party lines is an honourable state, in fact; or about in- terceding for the innocent — as Bob Geldof has, for those dying in Ethiopia, as Mrs Thatcher did not, for those who died in the Falklands.

Michael Horovitz

Piedmont, Bisley, Gloucestershire