LETTERS : Marriott has been made a scapegoat while the real culprits fl ee

From Mr Michael Palin Sir: I met John Marriott, the ex-governor of Parkhurst, while filming at the prison in 1993. He seemed to me a most humane and honourable man, concerned to treat as decently as possible everyone under his care, both the prison officers and the prisoners themselves. I remember being enormously impressed by his ability, his humanity and his commitment and, as a taxpayer, I was greatly reassured that our prison system should recognise the worth of such a man.

Whatever may have gone wrong since, one thing puzzles me. If John Marriot has been made to take the rap for what the Prison Service internal inquiry called serious failures by local managers and individual prison officers, who is going to take the rap for the recent spate of national failures? Two obvious candidates come to mind, but as of this morning, Howard and Lewis are still on the run.

Yours faithfully, Michael Palin London, NW5

11 January