Electoral news value (1)

Joe Borg of Xgħajra writes petulantly (No News On The BBC, March 11) concerning what he perceives as an anti-Maltese bias on the part of the BBC. I would say rather that the BBC casts a somewhat beady eye towards the islands where the only name that most British recognise is Mintoff - whose daughter threw horse manure over the assembled peers of the House of Lords.

Aside from his fanciful excursions to Swaziland and Timbuctoo, it is true what Mr Borg says that the BBC is somewhat negligent about Malta. But then interest in the islands has diminished somewhat since the Queen is no longer Queen of Malta, and matters were not helped by some Maltese demanding apologies from Her Majesty over regrettable wartime events that occurred when she was but a teenaged Princess.

It is true that Malta does not get a good press in the UK, but Maltese knowledgeable of Britain, such as Mr Borg who spent many years in my country, are aware of our lingering memories of the British brothel-masters of Soho being supplanted in the 1940s by Maltese such as the Messina brothers who suborned the Metropolitan Police and were only ejected by a great effort.

I was a teacher in a Catholic school in the East End of London and so knew many Maltese families who tended to maintain a low profile as to their origin. My own experiences of Malta have been happy ones but not all Brits share my interest, and there were other elections in progress at the same time as Malta's. Pray tell me, Mr Borg, what significant changes will occur in Malta as a result of this election and why should the "world community" that he mentions tune in to London when Malta is well represented on the Internet?

In conclusion, why does not Malta itself have a presence on international radio since the demise of Voice of the Mediterranean to which I was both a correspondent and occasional contributor?