From Ms Betty Cairns

Sir: If Delia Smith follows Louise Levene’s advice (17 January) and produces a basic cookery book for people with little knowledge or cash, she will be in very illustrious “cooking” company indeed.
Both Fracatelli, Queen Victoria’s chef, and the great Alexis Soyer of the Reform Club produced just such cookery books, giving advice on utensils and cheap nourishing dishes. Our separate notes are available for examination and they would put Mr Calder’s mind at rest.Yours faithfullyEgon RonayLondon, SW323 January. From Mr Larry McLean

Sir: The “stakeholder society” is what we Liberal Democrats have been advocating for at least 60 years. From Mr Egon Ronay

Sir: In the context of my having condemned three foreign airports in comparison with Heathrow, Simon Calder (Travel column, 20 January), mentioned that I have been working for four years for BAA on improving the standard of food (in 130 catering outlets).
My integrity has never been doubted and, on my comparative visits to Schiphol, De Gaulle, Frankfurt and Heathrow airports, a member of my special airports inspection team and an independent representative of the Press Association both took detailed notes of every tasting of some 200 food items.The Press Association’s man completely concurred with our findings. On the contrary, it was recognised then – as I believe it should be now – that, while unity of theory and practice may be generally desirable, not every personal decision taken (even by a politician) is necessarily a political one. There are some actions one takes as a parent that can be described as being of a purely “parental” nature.What has changed in the intervening three decades is the cancerous growth of an increasingly amoral, obsessive and vindictive press – tabloid and broadsheet – which, in its hunger for “celebrity” blood, resembles nothing so closely as it does a lynch mob.Yours faithfully,R S LandauLondon, N1223 January.

The issue is no longer about Harriet and her child, but how we handle ourselves in this difficult period Let me make it clear what this is now about. The Tories are trying to turn the education of an 11-year-old boy into a party political football. They want a scalp as their prize.”Before he spoke Ms Harman had declared in an emotional speech: “I know how difficult it has been for David Blunkett [the shadow Secretary of State for Education]. Mr Prescott, like several other of his colleagues, is known to have been privately angered by Ms Harman’s decision.Mr Prescott, who throughout the episode has conspicuously failed to back Ms Harman personally, nevertheless sought yesterday to draw a line under the episode in his speech to the PLP meeting.He urged the party to unite behind Mr Blair’s leadership and focus their energy on two forthcoming by-elections, in Hemsworth and Staffordshire South East.But while Mr Blair unequivocally reasserted his party’s commitment to non-selective comprehensive education, Cabinet ministers emerged from a meeting on political strategy determined to capitalise, between now and the general election, on the charges of “hypocrisy” provoked by Ms Harman’s choice of a selective school.Brian Mawhinney, the Tory party’s chairman, said Mr Blair could not sack Ms Harman because he was using her as a “human shield” as he himself had sent his older son to a comprehensive which selected by interview.But despite the widespread anger within Labour ranks over Ms Harman’s decision, correspondence flowing into the party suggested that while there was deep unrest among activists, there was much more support for Ms Harman among the electorate at large.Mr Blair – in a speech described even by stern Shadow Cabinet critics of Ms Harman as “electric”- told the meeting: “These decisions are bound to cause anguish. you must stand firm”.Ms Harman went on to tough out Tory attempts to derail her with a sure- footed performance, leading a Commons health debate flanked by Mr Blair and prominent members of the Shadow Cabinet – including John Prescott, the party’s deputy leader. But Ms Harman’s supporters were astounded when Bernie Grant, the left-wing MP for Tottenham, made a powerful speech backing Ms Harman during which he excoriated the “appalling” standard of comprehensive schooling in inner-city London.Mr Blair at one point described the Tories as “bastards” and declared: “I’m not going to allow the Tories the pleasure of crucifying any member of my Shadow Cabinet … One analyst said the offer would be a highly leveraged buyout, reminiscent of the takeovers of the 1980s.

“There will be a lot of debt to pay down if they pull this off.”No financing is yet in place, Forte conceded last night. But a spokesman said that “discussions about financing were encouraging”. He added that the Forte family would seek a stock market listing in future if their audacious offer is accepted.City comment, page17. DONALD MACINTYRE

and PATRICIA WYNN DAVIES
Tony Blair, the Labour leader, yesterday stifled a destablising campaign to unseat his shadow Secretary of State for Health, Harriet Harman, with a passionate call on his party to recover the unity needed to defeat the Tories.Mr Blair, faced with a potentially catastrophic revolt over Ms Harman’s controversial decision to send her 11-year-old son to a grammar school, reimposed his will on the party with a warning that he would not hand the Conservatives “the scalp” they were seeking.Mr Blair’s decisive victory at a highly-charged 70-minute meeting of MPs – which exposed deep divisions in the party – came after Ms Harman apologised for the political damage and “distress” inflicted by the row but stood firm on her right to have made the choice.

My objective is to make a detailed proposal to Granada in coming weeks.”A spokesman for Forte said Sir Rocco and his family would use the pounds 300m proceeds from the sale of their own stake in Forte to Granada as equity in the new venture The rest would come from debt. Granada has promised to sell Forte’s Meridien, Exclusive and trophy hotels, to pay the pounds 2.5bn debt it took on to finance the takeover. It intends to keep the budget Travelodge chain and the mid-market Posthouse properties.In a statement issued last night, Sir Rocco said: “I am leading a team working on a plan to purchase from Granada the hotel business of Forte other than Posthouses and Travelodge. MATHEW HORSMAN

The Forte family last night unveiled a radical proposal to buy back the upmarket hotels it lost to Granada, in a deal that could be worth pounds 2.5bn.
The dramatic announcement, which came after the market closed, would see Sir Rocco Forte and the Forte dynasty reclaim some of the world’s best-known hotel properties, including the Grosvenor House in London and the George V in Paris.Sir Rocco raised the plan at a meeting yesterday with Gerry Robinson, the chief executive of Granada, convened to discuss the handover of Forte following its defeat in a two-month, pounds 3.8bn battle. “At this stage, we could only forcibly remove her from Turkey at the request of her parents.”Leading article, page 14. He said: “Musa’s only hope of getting out of prison is if they can apply to a court for special permission to marry when she is 14.”A Turkish foreign ministry spokesman said Sarah’s visa was valid for a further three months. Before leaving for the airport, Mrs Cook said: “Looking back, perhaps letting Sarah get married was the wrong thing to do, but everyone makes mistakes.”Earlier in the day, however, Sarah had told the Sun: “If they keep Musa in jail, I will kill myself, because I can’t live without him.”Musa’s lawyer, Selim Sumen, also has an interest in her staying.

Love knows no law or boundary.”The English ruling is not binding in Turkey but there were indications last night that the authorities would recognise it. His lawyers argued that the marriage took place with the consent of both sets of parents, although the minimum age for any marriage in Turkey – and then only with the special dispensation of a judge – is 14.Musa’s father said: “The two of them love each other madly Because they insisted, the two families agreed We love Sarah as our daughter The English should not be worried. They are already understood to have earned more than pounds 20,000 from selling her story to the Sun.The schoolgirl from Braintree, Essex, was besieged by journalists yesterday in the cramped apartment she shared with her 18-year-old husband, Musa Komeagae – whom she married in an unofficial ceremony two weeks ago – and his parents in Kahramanmaras.Meanwhile, her husband was brought before a Turkish court on charges of repeated statutory rape and suspected abduction of a minor and was remanded in custody for 30 days. After a 30-minute hearing, he ordered her to be returned to the court’s jurisdiction “forthwith” and demanded that any passport on which she travels home should be surrendered.Sir Stephen’s wide-ranging order also forbade Mrs Cook and her husband, Adrian, 42, from taking Sarah out of the country again and from talking about her case to the press. STEVE BOGGAN

HUGH POPE
in KahramanmarasA High Court judge yesterday ordered the return to Britain of 13-year- old bride Sarah Cook as the girl’s Turkish husband was remanded in custody on a charge of statutory rape.Sarah’s mother, Jackie, 37, flew to Turkey last night, admitting that she may have been wrong to consent to the illegal marriage and adding: “All I want to do now is get my daughter home.” She was expected in Kahramanmaras late last night.Sir Stephen Brown, President of the Family Division of the High Court, made Sarah a ward of court at the request of Essex County Council’s social services department. But some of his own MPs – led by the former Northern Ireland spokesman Kevin McNamara – joined Mr Hume in rejecting the election plan and accused Mr Major of seeking to keep power with Unionist support.Mitchell details, page 2Andrew Marr, page 2New focus, same crisis, page 15′Six commitments all parties should make’These are the key principles that the Mitchell Report says all sides should embrace:t Democratic and exclusively peaceful means of resolving political issues.t The total disarmament of all paramilitary organisations.t Agree that disarmament must be verifiable.t Renounce the use or threat of force to influence the course or the outcome of all-party negotiations.t Agree to abide by the terms of any agreement reached in all-party negotiations and to use exclusively peaceful methods to try to alter any part of it with which they disagree.t Urge that “punishment” killings and beatings stop, and to take effective steps to prevent these..