14 JANUARY 1966, Page 12

The Lawson Affair

SIR,—The fact that one man buying one house makes major front-page news is the fault of your colleagues on the press. not of the building societies.

During 1965 the societies lent close on £1,000 million to about half a million home-buyers—an unusual way of 'failing the nation'!

The Building Societies Association, 14 Park Street, London, WI

N. E. GRIGGS

Secretary

[Of course the failure was not total. A thousand million pounds is a lot of money. But it should have been even more.—Editor, SPECTATOR.]