COMMENT: Oliver Letwin's comment nasty relic of 80s
1980s Britain was a very different place in a different time from today, and in many ways was a dark decade.
Oliver Letwin's comments about the Handsworth riots are a rotten relic from this era 30 years ago.
Quite rightly, he has wasted no time in apologising over a memo he sent to then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher that the disturbances were 'bad moral attitudes' in the black population.
These words are based on a deep ignorance from a naive young politician.
Mr Letwin grew up in an 'intellectual' family, progressed to Cambridge University and then into the Westminster bubble. It is clear to see this man was far removed from life in Handsworth, Brixton, and Broadwater Farm.
Sadly the comments made in his memo would have been echoed in Westminster and by others at that time.
This does not excuse his remarks, but we can take comfort from the fact that Britain is horrified today to discover they were even made. Mr Letwin has apologised and we would hope that he has become more enlightened.
We live in a multi-cultural society and the Black Country is a fine example of communities living in harmony. Britain has come a long way in the last 30 years.
