AS if to emphasize the constant unpreparedness of Labour ministers, particularly at a time when a top-notch statesman is required to handle the job, new Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett has admitted she is in at the deep end and flying by the seat of her pants.

Having suffered the ignominy of Prescott doing his stuff in his open- doored office, I hope for the sake of all of us that she does not get caught with them down.

DW GILL

Oakenshaw