SIR – I was really pleased to read the letter (T&A, April 13) in which Emmerson Walgrove debunked the myth regarding Mrs Thatcher and her role in bringing about the ending of free school milk when she was the Minister for Education.

Can I say that I agreed with everything that Mr Walgrove expressed. Like him I was at school at the same time. Free milk ended when it was no longer needed. It was as simple as that.

Yet over the past few days we have had the ‘usual suspects’ who obviously did not like this lady, trotting out the usual old chestnuts regarding this matter. It was most unfortunate that Thatcher rhymed with snatcher otherwise they would have had to come up with something else.

It’s the same story with the miners’ strike. Why does no-one ask the obvious question, “Why didn’t Arthur Scargill hold a ballot before he called the strike?”

Had he done so we may not have had the situation where the miners who wanted to go to work were prevented from doing so.

A majority ‘yes’ vote for strike action in a national ballot would have meant that all the trouble could have been avoided, or am I being too simplistic?

Brian Pickford, Summerbridge Crescent, Eccleshill