Letter: Blair baby

Sir: Not just a shock but shocking ("A new little Blairite is on the way, Cherie tells Tony", 19 November). Just as in any other established pregnancy, we will all want to send warm messages of support and encouragement to the mother, the family and the new baby. That said, we can deplore the selfishness of our nation's leading couple in having a fourth child at a time when the world's population is continuing to grow at an unsustainable rate, and their irresponsibility as role-models in enjoying recreational sex without adequate contraception, when just that behaviour results in our having the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Europe, the birth of many "unwanted" babies and the abortion of huge numbers of foetuses.

MERVYN CURRAN

Oxford