All in good fun
Sir: I fear that poor Michael Vestey suffers from a severe sense-of-humour deficit. He believes (Radio, 25 May) that, in a recent edition of The News Quiz, a `throw-away sentence' criticising Mrs Thatcher's record demonstrated my political bias. 'He wasn't wrapping it in a joke, but expressing a view,' he adds, suggesting that the experi- ence has coloured his opinion of my day job — presenting The World at One.
Can there be anyone in the country, (including her closest Cabinet colleagues), who has never essayed a joke at Mrs Thatcher's expense? It seems to have escaped Mr Vestey's notice that one of the points of The News Quiz is to make gentle fun of politicians of all colours as a relief from the rigours of the political week.
To single out one such remark from one programme — and to base such damaging assertions upon it — seems perverse, para- noid and downright silly. Journalists who are not professional humorists do what they can with the material they know best — poli- tics. It's not easy: he should try it some time!
Nick Clarke
62 Highlever Road, London W10
Previous page
