Letter: Tory demons

Sir: I was disturbed by the rather flippant treatment in your editorial (13 August) of the current Conservative advertising campaign. The anti-Blair imagery is reminiscent of that used on posters and placards in the early Soviet Union, in the Weimar Republic and more recently in Israel. The demonisation of individuals (Trotsky, Rathenau, Rabin) and groups (capitalists, kulaks, Jews, Communists, Palestinians) ended in murder. The Conservatives have no such purpose, and they have clearly made a dreadful error. They should quietly drop the current posters and broadcasts before serious damage is done.

JONATHAN OSMOND

Professor of Modern European History

University of Wales

Cardiff