Letter: Whom can we taxpayers sue?

Whom can we taxpayers sue?

Sir: I have every sympathy with any child who is the victim of incompetent teaching and wonder why no one has thought of suing negligent teachers before now (report, 2 December). But from the purely selfish point of view of a taxpayer, I am just a bit concerned that I appear to be funding every stage of this process.

First, I pay for the child's education, whatever the standard. That includes the school buildings, the teachers, the cleaners and the whole education bureaucracy. Then I pay the solicitors and barristers to sue the school, and the judges and court officers who try the case. In the meantime, I pay a sixth-form college to repair the damage done by the original school, and finally, if the court case is successful, I pay any damages awarded against the education authority.

Could someone please tell me whom I can sue for creating this ridiculous state of affairs?

M H LIGHTFOOT

Northallerton,

North Yorkshire