Letter: The fall of Archer

Sir: The present outcome of the wholly democratic process which the Conservative Party followed in choosing its candidate for the Mayor of London is not the fault of democracy as such.

It is rather the fault of those within the Conservative Party who chose to believe the tales of one particular teller of plausible tales in preference to the cumulative evidence of his "unreliability", and who have given him their confidence and endorsement.

This further illustration of the fact that, however belatedly, "truth will out" comes as no comfort to those of us within the Party who sought to avert this outcome by our earlier unheeded warnings that something like this was bound to happen, sooner or later, with this particular candidate.

HUMPHRY CRUM EWING

Reading, Berkshire