Letter: All informers now

Sir: This is a very dark day. Two social care colleagues, Ruth Wyner and John Brock, of Wintercomfort in Cambridge, have begun long prison sentences. Why? They were presumed unwilling to co-operate fully with the police to combat a drugs problem at their day centre for the homeless ("Jailing of charity workers may force shelters to turn away drug suspects", 18 December).

Thousands of social workers like myself working with homeless people have been in effect criminalised and the confidentiality rules of professional bodies like the British Association of Social Workers destroyed. We are all made coppers' narks overnight at the beginning of a police state.

DAVID BRANDON

Professor in Community Care

Anglia Polytechnic University

Chelmsford