I USED to think that institutions such as the NHS, Parliament and local government were run by people of integrity.

Then came NHS blunders, cash for questions and the expenses scam, councils paying for gold lessons for their staff and the fiasco of the BBC moving to Salford.

And the then ultimate insult of paying staff to keep quiet and of course, the police cover-ups on Hillsborough and Stephen Lawrence.

The kind of behaviour we have come to expect from private firms, ie banks, begs the question of where the buck stops — certainly not at the top.

No wonder UKIP are doing so well in the polls. People are tired of the failed policies of the usual culprits.

R Barnes (Mr), Lancashire.