Then see if he still believes in comprehensive education

Then see if he still believes in comprehensive education.N GillottEnfield, London. JUST two paragraphs after calling for "650 MPs of the commitment of Frank Field", George Walden castigates the media for daring to question the right of members to "make an honest bob on the side to supplement their pounds 33,000" ("No way to run a country", 30 July). It is sad that he does not appreciate the contradiction in these remarks. The vastly important and different tasks of policy scrutiny and policy- making evidently call for the fullest energy and devotion by every member honoured to have been entrusted with a seat in Parliament. Naturally, anything which allows MPs to organise their Commons business more robustly and productively is to be welcomed. It must remain clear, however, that the ultimate purpose of such parliamentary reform is to enable members to serve with greater usefulness the interests of the country, not themselves. With this in mind, George Walden would have done better to have omitted his defence of MPs' extra-parliamentary remuneration and included instead a full implementation of the Nolan Committee's recommendations on outside interests in his otherwise commendable call for a more sensible and modern approach to the workings of our legislature.Robin MullerHelensburgh, Dunbartonshire. AS someone who has spent the last year endeavouring, unsuccessfully so far, to have cablecompanies' graffiti removed from the footpaths of our city, I was disappointed by Erica Wagner's article, ("Secrets of the urban sprawl", Review, 30 July).

Here in Wakefield, areas of magnificent York Stone paving and old cobbled areas as well as our ordinary footpaths have been defaced by what she describes as "street art" Ephemeral it is not. Ordinary spray paint is used, which may take years to wear away, and I for one, am not happy to confront this graffiti every time I leave my house. The real reason why our pavements are subject to this unsighly scrawl is because it is a substitute for the cost which the cable companies would otherwise incur by employing full-time, qualified supervision to oversee the works, so that existing underground services are not damaged. Over the next few years we will also be noticing avenues of dying trees around the country following the slicing through of their roots by the unsupervised mechanical excavators of the contractors working for cable companies and the utilities.Malcolm JeffsWakefield, West Yorkshire. DOES stolen software in domestic personal computers hit legitimate trade ("Stolen software used on 75 per cent of home screens", 30 July)? I am using a copied package for this letter, but would not have paid pounds 300 for it. Having explored much "blackware" I will be discerning with future proper purchases, but to use them I have spent pounds 500 upgrading hardware, which I would not have otherwise done. The analogy is the invalid argument that public libraries destroy publishers; poor businessmen put themselves out of business. The transport of packages could be constrained, but users do not want a return to the deliberate incompatibilities once restricting the spread of computers.

If 20 per cent of new machines are bought for this purpose then the illicit market is expanding the genuine one. Providers aware of this encourage copying, but not for networking - which is fair. All software goes back to a very few historical thoroughbreds with dispersal through US government generosity. The true picture of original creation is as murky in software as it is in art and literature, which is why it cannot be patented. Copying is a short-term problem.