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From Mr Manuel Chetcuti

Sir: In Another View ("How to ease racial tension", 23 February), Winston Churchill reminds us of Britain's proud record of combating fascism, racism and intolerance, and gives as an example, Britain's part in the liberation of Auschwitz and our resolve in the defeat of Hitler.

He proposes that the way to ease a "general rise of racism and intolerance in Britain" is to limit the size of the ethnic population by stricter immigration controls. He obviously thinks that racial violence and intolerance is caused mainly by the presence of too many potential victims. There is a certain logic in this; reduce numbers and the number of attacks will decrease; one could even extend the logic by claiming that if there had been fewer Jews or no Jews in Europe then the Holocaust would not have happened.

Come off it, Mr Churchill. Of course there must be some immigration control but to suggest that its stricter enforcement would ease racial tension does nothing to address racism at its roots or the complex historical social and economic issues which surround it.

Yours faithfully,

MANUEL CHETCUTI

Norwich