Letter: The Post Office is worth a penny

Sir: Further to the debate on privatisation of the Royal Mail, is it not a reflection of our obsessive parochialism that debate on the uniform letter rate is limited to whether this can be maintained after privatisation for deliveries to the Outer Hebrides?

Since a quick glance at the map shows that the furthest I can get a letter for my 25p is the south- western extremity of Crete, or possibly the offshore island of Koufonisi (if anybody lives there), suspicions that the hardy Hebrideans may be the greatest beneficiaries of cross-subsidisation pale into insignificance.

The fact that the uniform letter rate already extends to the whole of the European Union (albeit for a reduced weight allowance) appears to have been overlooked in this polemic, although it is a valuable symbol of our membership. It is also the best guarantee that the Hebrideans can sleep easy in their beds.

Yours faithfully,

Rickmansworth,

Hertfordshire

18 May