It is less than gallant of The Argus now to describe Lynette Gwyn-Jones as "less than special" during her stint as leader of the council (Voice Of The Argus, July 17).

If this is the opinion of The Argus, then why was it not voiced at the time, when she was in a position to address or rectify the matter, should she have chosen to do so?

The general feeling is she was more sporting and younger at heart than the peremptory Ken Bodfish and that her stepping down was not a reflection upon her performance as such.

Instead, forces were at work behind the scenes. Without her perhaps being aware of it, she was installed upon a temporary basis - a form of intermission until the return of Steve Bassam and moves for a directly-elected mayor.

It is distressing to think Coun Gwyn-Jones could have been used in this fashion, with whatever effect upon her career, and again calls into question the process of her leadership election, which was held when Tony Blair was in town and at which the early lead of the excellent Francis Tonks mysteriously evaporated when additional elimination rounds were held.

This brings to mind the Bassam/Kinnock purges of Brighton Labour councillors a decade earlier and must make voters of every kind feel disquiet their elected representatives should become victims of such machinations.

-Christopher Hawtree, Westbourne Gardens, Hove