Regarding MP Anne Snelgrove's letter, (MP welcomes ID card debate, SA, February 13), I'd like to correct Anne's somewhat misleading statements about the Whose Identity Is It Anyway? public meeting held on Tuesday.
Anne's invitation to speak at the meeting was extended to her on January 1, and declined by her office on January 8 because of a pre-existing engagement.
On January 9, I wrote and asked whether she would be able to address the meeting if its date could be moved to February 16, then Anne confirmed she could attend the first 30 minutes of the original meet.
As the first 45 minutes of the meeting were scheduled for the panelists to give their views on the National Identity Register and Identity Cards, and the rest of the meeting given over to the audience asking questions of the panel, it would obviously be odd for a panelist to give their views then leave the meeting without answering questions, and somewhat disrespectful to the other panelists and members of the audience.
We offered a compromise solution whereby Anne could arrive towards the end of the speeches, address the audience, then stay for the first half of audience questions before leaving the meeting early.
Resolution was reached the very next day when an email from Anne's office stated very clearly: "It just won't be possible for Anne to come for the whole meeting, so we'd better say no."
The decision for Anne not to join the panel was obviously hers, and not ours although her letter clearly suggests the contrary.
Our invitation for Anne to join either the panel, or the audience, was always open and without time limitation, so her statement that we have invited her to: "join the audience for the first half-hour", sounds very much like we tried to discourage her attendance, when the very opposite is true. We tried in every way we could to encourage and enable her to speak on equal terms with the other panelists.
I welcome Anne's intention to hold a public meeting of her own, although I would urge her to confirm that she actually intends to invite and answer questions from an assembled audience at her meeting.
If she really intends to properly engage with her constituents over these important issues, she's assured a good attendance at her meeting.
G Reid.
The Prinnels, Swindon
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