Foot-in-mouth Sussex Tory MP Howard Flight has the brass neck to accuse the government of ignoring rights of local people over National Park status for the South Downs.

Wasn't it all those Tory and Lib-Dem-controlled local councils in Sussex which refused to consult local people on the future of the Downs? Wasn't Labour-run Brighton and Hove the only council in Sussex to democratically consult local people?

The result of that truly democratic consultation was, overwhelmingly, local people want the level of protection for the Downs only National Park status would provide. That's what Sussex Tory councils and MPs can't stomach - the fact local people don't agree with their backwards-looking views.

-Nigel Sweet,Nursery Close, Shoreham