Sir, - On the front page of your edition of January 25th was a splendidly graphic photograph depicting the utter dejection of Peter Mandelson and his Prime Minister, Tony Blair. Mandelson had, some hours earlier, confessed to being guilty or a minor verbal inexactitude which misled parliament. He promptly resigned.
On page 7 of the same paper there was a photograph of a relaxed-looking Liam Lawlor, the long-serving Fianna Fail TD (now Independent), having left the Dail Eireann members' bar after his release some hours earlier from Mountjoy Jail. Your correspondent Kitty Holland relates that it was apparently a most hilarious occasion because it was celebrated by some of his fellow members "with howls of laughter" which could be heard by everybody in the vicinity.
What an extraordinary and bizarre contrast between the UK parliament and Dail Eireann! The word "resign" is not to be found in the lexicon of members of the Dail. - Yours, etc.,
Aidan A. Larkin, North Circular Road, Limerick.