JOHN Phillpott's plug for the UK Independence Party (Phillpott File, December 16) might explain the plethora of anti-Europe letters that find their way into the You Say correspondence column which he edits.

Mr Phillpott's motives have long been obvious to regular readers of his column. What is surprising is that in the interest of balance and fairness - basic tenets of journalism in my book - the Evening News doesn't have a regular columnist whose attitudes to life and the universe are rather different from Mr Phillpott's.

As for his advocacy of Worcestershire's Julie Kirkbride as saviour of the Conservative Party, this, presumably, was written with Mr Phillpott's tongue firmly in his cheek. However, in the recent bout of party bloodletting at Westminster, it didn't go unnoticed that Ms Kirkbride made no secret of her dismay at the leadership of Iain Duncan Smith.

More crucially, if Ms Kirkbride aspires to the elevated status Mr Phillpott prophesies, she may well by now be joining the ranks of rational Conservatives like Kenneth Clarke, who realise that Britain will suffer severe long-term damage if this country does not play its full part in the development of the European Union, including adoption of the euro.

They have no intention of leaving their heads in the sand and ignoring the compelling evidence that countries in the euro zone have seen their trade rise substantially because they have abolished currency barriers, while Britain's has stagnated.

Such evidence, of course, is unpalatable to the likes of John Phillpott and his regular UKIP correspondents.

DAVID CANDLER,

Member of the National Union of Journalists and supporter of Britain in Europe,

St John's, Worcester.

Professional journalists are capable of wearing a number of different caps, Mr Candler. The Phillpott File - a comment column - represents the views of the writer. You Say, however, is a forum for people of all persuasions and edited completely without bias, fear or favour - Editor.