Letter: The diseased culture that killed Diana

Sir: I hope that I'm not alone in feeling both outrage and shame at Diana's tragic death. Every single person who has chosen to read the media's intrusive, titillating, voyeuristic, soap-opera-isation of Diana's private life (and there can't be many who haven't) must bear some responsibility for the appalling circumstances of Diana's death.

The irony is almost unbearably grotesque: you've really got your story- of-a-lifetime now, boys. Yet the circumstances of Diana's appalling death are simply the logical conclusion of this cankerous cultural discourse to which we have all contributed.

We can only hope that collective guilt and shame for this tragedy will lead to some honest soul-searching. The emotional emptiness and the depths of cultural malaise that must underlie the apparently insatiable desire for the details of celebrities' private lives can scarcely be dreamt of.

If Diana's tragic death won't bring about a sea-change in our attitudes towards other people's private lives, then I fear nothing will.

Dr RICHARD HOUSE

Norwich