Reid all about it

During my tenure as editor one of the main issues in the area was the ferry provision between Gourock and Dunoon, which continues unresolved.

Since my departure I have had a number of exchanges in the paper's letters' page on the subject with the local MP, Mr Alan Reid. These exchanges have been far from amicable, and I have made it clear I regard his stance as both opportunistic and unprincipled.

Imagine my surprise, therefore, when I received a link to Mr Reid's election leaflet, in which he quotes me as saying: "I have considerable respect for Alan Reid, who is by any measure a hard-working and, by Westminster standards, a very cheap MP…"

Absolutely true – I did say this in the opening paragraph of a letter to the newspaper, but the rest of the letter was highly critical of him; in fact I've never written anything which, taken in context, could be construed as even remotely supportive of him in terms of how effective he is as an MP – after all, being cheap and hard-working does not necessarily make him good at his job.

If he really wanted to use quotes to reflect my opinion of him then I submit the following might have represented a more accurate selection: "utter hypocrisy"; "Mr Reid is reluctant to let a bandwagon pass him without seizing the opportunity to jump upon it"; "he is not lacking in brass neck…"; "Mr Reid's memory is somewhat akin to that of a goldfish when it comes to recollecting uncomfortable truths, and he is clearly a man whom it is impossible to embarrass…"

And last, and perhaps most relevant in the circumstances: "I never cease to be amazed at the effrontery of Mr Reid…"

And this is a Nick Clegg disciple promising a new direction and a change from the bad old ways?

Aye right.

BILL JARDINE

Rue Bois Boisell

Brittany, France