Letters: In Brief

Sir: Many will be concerned at the news that the quarantine regulations which have served this country well for over 100 years are apparently now to be relaxed to suit pet owners.

Inoculation and embedded identity microchips are all fine and dandy but nothing can beat the clarity of the current regulations. If as a traveller on a boat or plane returning to the UK you see a fellow passenger with an animal then you know that it is there illegally. The regulations are capable of self-policing by the public.

PETER FORREST

London N22

Sir: "Three in a marriage" was certainly a smart piece of public relations. But it does not balance with the Prince's statement that he only resumed a relationship with Mrs Parker Bowles after his marriage had broken down. Paulette James (letter, 30 October) may be privy to inside information unknown to anybody else, but most people know that the partisan statements of a spouse in a divorce are a poor guide to the truth. What is beyond doubt is that Diana, Princess of Wales, lost no public opportunity to denigrate her husband.

ARTHUR HAMILTON

Osterley Park, Middlesex

Sir: In response to your report "Rail firms fined for phone-line failings" (30 October)I would like to point out that not all National Rail Enquiry Service suppliers are failing to meet the regulators' targets. South West Trains is contracted to provide part of the NRES service from its Southampton call centre and has consistently met the regulator's challenging targets. In fact our consistent performance has recently led us to taking an additional 7,500 calls per week from some other NRES areas struggling to meet response times.

ANDY PITT

Commercial Director

South West Trains

London SE1

Sir: Maurice Millen (letter, 31 October) asks whether anybody "likes it when the clocks go back". Me, for a start. The alternative is the dismal prospect of month after month of getting up and going out in the dark.

JOHN SMURTHWAITE

Leeds