THE debacle and scandal surrounding Damian McBride, and his sidekick Derek Draper, shows how desperate things have got at the heart of Government. To describe their actions as simply a plot to smear Tory leaders does not demonstrate the seriousness of what they were planning. Let's not mince words. These are liars who peddle lies.

Politicians, and I include both national and local, are easy targets to smears, insinuations and the aforementioned lies. McBride and his Labour Party colleagues and associates were planning to stoop so low that even family members were to be under fire. In a decent society full of decent minded people this kind of thing has no place and the sooner they go the better.

There has been an appalling spectacle of Labour MPs pointlessly suggesting that this has nothing to do with them and saying "nothing to do with me guv". I find it astonishing that people whose moral compass, at the expense of the tax payer, is distorted enough that they think it ok to go through life telling lies.

I feel nothing but contempt for McBride and his associates, a contempt I feel for any liar who I will always refuse to do business with, and their exposure as liars should be remembered.

At least I shall never forget.

(Coun) COLIN LOVELL

Middleleaze Drive

Swindon