Letters: Taxpayers duped

Taxpayers duped

Sir: Ben Gill's remarks (Right of Reply, 21 September) demonstrate the use of specialist knowledge to obscure the real issues.

As far as sheep are concerned, massive overstocking has been the problem as long as subsidies have been paid to encourage it. In response to a pounds 29 per head bounty, there has been a great increase in the number of sheep on overgrazed hillsides and fields. Now, there is another subsidy to help maintain this rural speculation as they offload the unwanted numbers.

Mr Gill asks, "Whatever happened to British common sense?" If the taxpayer knew the full extent to which (s)he has had to underwrite farming, British common sense would reassert itself with a vengeance.

MARTIN F BARNETT

Kingsland, Herefordshire