SIR - Does Councillor Andrew Mallinson know the meaning of democracy and freedom of speech?

Judging by his comments following the criticism by the Bishop of Bradford and two well-known Bradford businessmen about the debacle of Forster Square and developer Westfield, he does not like to hear what most Bradfordians are saying.

For him to refer to a past president of the Bradford Chamber of Commerce as a so-called representative of the business community is misinformed and distasteful when one considers how much John Pennington has done for this city.

If Cllr Mallinson himself achieves half of what these people have done for our city, I shall be surprised.

It is time our council leader Kris Hopkins got a grip of the problems in Bradford and engage people of quality around him to sort out the mess he and his councillors have created.

If he is unwilling or not able to do this, we would be best served by him retiring back to his Keighley roots and taking his Craven District councillor with him and letting Bradfordians who were criticised by his colleague get on with putting Bradford back on the map.

Michael Lonsdale, Acre Avenue, Eccleshill