LETTERS : Cherie Blair and the poll tax defaulter

Last week, our main front-page article reported that Cherie Blair, a barrister and the wife of the Labour leader Tony Blair, had acted in a series of cases for councils pursuing poll tax defaulters. In one case, she asked a judge to return a bail ed defaulter to jail. We also reported that she had given a conference paper on how to enforce the law, including the threat of prison, against defaulters. A leader explained our decision to publish the story.

In response, we received nearly 100 letters. A large majority of these said we were wrong to give the story such prominence. Below, we publish a selection.

IN your article on Cherie Blair you say barristers must take cases on the "cab-rank" principle - as they come along. This principle is a shibboleth much beloved by the purists at the Bar. In reality only the needy wait hungrily in the rank for the next fare to arrive, and then only when their clerks so decide.

Michael Beckman Lincoln's Inn London WC2