DESPITE Mr D P Allen's worries about the style of the Hyndburn Council Leader, George Slynn, (LET, October 30) I note that Hyndburn remains free of slave labour camps, has held no political show trials and allows criticism of its leader to appear without censorship.

While I appreciate that Mr Allen may only have been indulging in hyperbole to make his point, it is an insult to the memory of the many millions who suffered and died in the Gulags to use comparisons with Stalin in such trite contexts. Stalin was, thank God, incomparable.

B GRAY (Mr), Hawthorne Road, Burnley.

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