I venture to hope that I'm not alone in thinking it was the media - especially TV news - rather than the Government which has been most responsible for the widespread use of spin.

I was astonished by the convoluted and aggressive TV news reportage of the Kelly affair.

In spinning its own webs and focussing on minutiae, TV news has lost sight of the fundamental truth - that it was Dr Kelly who betrayed the trust of the Government, not the other way round.

The evidence made public has left me with a clear impression that the gossipy opinion expressed in Dr Kelly's unauthorised interview with Andrew Gilligan was nebulous, unsubstantiated and spun out by the reporter to suit his own agenda.

Dr Kelly's suicide is very sad and I'm left with the feeling that he deeply regretted his indiscretion.

However, it seems remarkable that anyone would expect the Government to support a man who had so severely and irresponsibly let them down.

What is extraordinary is the BBC governors' emphatic backing for Mr Gilligan, despite reservations expressed within the corporation.

Regrettably, their response seems par for the course and does not surprise me in the least.

-Mike Strong, Brighton