Sir,-Councillor Mann (February 15th) has broken one of the golden rules of child-rearing: never use an idle threat!

We all know that he does not smack his children and so would never allow anyone else to do so.

Fine! But Cllr Mann, Richmond upon Thames Council and the rest of the children's rights lobby do not believe in live and let live. Hence, their howls of protest last year when the government confirmed the right of parents to delegate the use of reasonable physical correction to childminders.

As Margaret Hodge, the education minister put it : "The idea that we, as politicians, have a better understanding of the welfare of their children is insulting to parents".

Of course, her words apply equally to Jenny Tonge MP, who, at the expense of our children's health and safety, also rides roughshod over the rights of parents.

As in a one-party state, Cllr. Mann, Richmond upon Thames Council and the children's rights lobby all resort to the subversion of language itself in an attempt to alter public opinion.

Thus, 'hit', 'beat', 'assault' and 'violence' are their vocabulary for 'smack', as demonstrated by the councillor's question: "Is there anything at all wrong in encouraging parents not to beat their children?"

In their arrogance, they refuse to acknowledge that parents are as capable of knowing the difference between a smack and assault as they are of knowing the difference between a cuddle and abuse.

The Liberal Democrats' attacks on parents and church schools, personified in Cllr Mann, Jenny Tonge and our council, are a sign of a party whose aim is control.

Their credo can aptly be summed up in the chilling words penned in a letter to The Times by Lady Helen Brook, founder of the Brook Advisory Services, on February 16th, 1980 : "From birth to death, it is now the duty of the Parental State to make major decisions - objective, unemotional, the State weighs up what is best for the child". It is time to fight back and prove they are wrong!

- Mrs. Kathleen Cassidy, Orchard Road, East Twickenham.