Letter: Love and charity in Birmingham

Sir: So Mother Teresa is coming to save the poor of Birmingham (' 'Silver I have not, I am sending my sisters' '; front page, 30

September). Am I the only person who feels ashamed, offended and embarrassed? How can things have reached such a nadir that a missionary to the starving, homeless street people of one of the poorest cities of the Third World can seriously be turning her attention to a major city in what purports to be the civilised developed world?

This is not work for charities, who can only tinker with the fringes. It is part of the function of government to deal with root causes and ensure that these sorts of charities are made redundant. Who is going to do something to allow Mother Teresa and her like to concentrate on those parts of the world which do not have our resources?

Yours faithfully,

ANNE TOWSE

London, NW8

10 September