Lord Denning
Sir: Readers may well remember the inter- view I conducted with Lord Denning which was published in the 18 August issue.
I wrote privately to Lord Denning just after publication to express my regret for the distress he suffered during the press furore which greeted the interview, when many aspects of the interview were dis- torted.
I wish now to set the record straight on an error that I made in the published article. I said that Lord Denning had expressed some concern about what I would make of his remarks concerning the Guildford Four and Birmingham cases. I 'We can't ALL be store detectives.' then wrote, 'I sent him the relevant pages of the transcript and he said that he was happy for them to be published'. While he did receive and approve three relevant pages, by an oversight I omitted to include one page. This included comments he had made much later in the interview when he returned to the subject of the Guildford Four in relation to the issue of hanging.
While the whole interview was con- ducted on the record, I wish to point out that Lord Denning did not have an oppor- tunity to see all the comments he had made on the Guildford Four, as he had subse- quently requested and as the article im- plied. The later page should have been sent to him, and I wish to apologise to Lord Denning for this careless error.
I have always had the most profound respect for Lord Denning and, like most people, I consider him to be one of the very finest judges of His century. That respect and my personal. affection remain undiminished, and his life-time of achieve- ments will continue to speak for itself.
I am genuinely sorry ' that • Lord Denning's peace of mind has been dis- turbed by the whole episode and I wish to express my regret to both Lord and Lady Denning fot the distress they have suf- fered.
A. N. Wilson
do Peters, Fraser and Dunlop, The 'Chambers, Chelsea Harbour, Lots Road, London SW10
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