Who suffers?

ALAN Watkins declares that "we are no longer safe in our beds ... because of the dangerous lunatics released on to our streets by Mrs Virginia Bottomley" ("Why Mr Benn is the right man for the job", 30 April).

At a time when the BBC, for instance, is doing its best to reduce the stigma and prejudice which still attaches itself to the mentally ill, Mr Watkins' remark is offensive to those with severe psychiatric disorder. It is the sufferers who are made most vulnerable when this policy is executed without due care.

Andrew Dutton

Bedford