Letter: Kosovo: no lectures from China, please

Sir: The regime in the so-called People's Republic of China is as reprehensible and horrendous as that of Milosevic. But we have no war with it. Nonetheless, Nato's whole strategic position has been jeopardised by a "mistake" of enormous proportions.

It is two generations (with the honourable exception of Lord Carrington) since a British politician of any colour has accepted responsibility for conspiracy or cock-up in his ministry. So who will account for this disaster?

Managing to kill four neutral civilians in their own territory is an incompetence at least as great as being in thrall to an eccentric whilst in charge of a football team; failure to compare "intelligence" reports about the whereabouts of important buildings with up-to-date street-maps of Belgrade is negligent idleness commensurate with the failure on the part of a politician to see the inappropriateness of accepting a loan from a wealthy friend and colleague.

I and the People's Republic of China want to know who gets sacked.

J W A BARNES

Chippenham, Wiltshire