Letter: Good old Richard

Sir: Why should the statue of Richard I, a valiant Crusader King who personified the hopes of medieval Christianity by fighting to reclaim the Holy Land, be removed from Westminster (letter, 4 November)? What is incongruous is the statue of Oliver Cromwell, who forcibly dissolved four parliaments, on one occasion commanding a soldier to remove "that fool's bauble" the Speaker's mace. He established a dictatorial personal rule through a big standing army and a network of spies.

JENNIFER MILLER

London SW15