SIR - Once again, Mike Priestley does his best to undermine the reputation of the Chancellor of the Exchequer by claiming that he has grabbed' £5 billion from the pension funds in every year since Labour came to power.

I will remind Mr Priestley that what actually happened was that by no longer making companies pay Advanced Corporation Tax, Mr Brown inadvertently (or more likely by design) ended a scam whereby pension funds could claim a refund of any ACT included in dividends paid to them.

In other words the Chancellor ensured that the majority of taxpayers were no longer required to subsidise the fortunate few able to afford a private pension.

Like many other commentators, Mr Priestley takes a dim view of the nanny state as a concept, but when he is directly and adversely affected by a decision to make an organisation stand on its own two feet, he is the first to cry foul.

Brian Holmans, Langley Road, Bingley