FOLLOWING my letter (March 27) regarding Jeremy Clarkson in terms of the boorishness of our celebrity culture and self-obsessed society, in the light of last night's leaders' debate on TV, may I be allowed to further qualify my thoughts?

Or, with Jeremy Paxman being widely reported as having been "the winner", should I simply say, "My case rests"?

The ability to question those and such as those with confidence, persistence, reasoning and clarity of thought has reached an all-time low if such as Mr Paxman is hailed by so many (as, indeed, in the case of Mr Clarkson) as being an interviewer par excellence and at the apogee of his profession. Hectoring, snorting derisively, disdainful posturing, sneering, et al, are the clear hallmarks of a bully and, here again, as in the Top Gear presenter's case, the numbers of those who, quietly or otherwise, condone and encourage such attitudes give cause for genuine concern as to where we're heading as a so-called civilised nation. I feel that in most other areas of work/business Paxman would not so much be lauded but rather be on the end of a whole raft of grievance procedures.

Whither, today, the likes of Huw Weldon, Richard Dimbleby, Sir Robin Day, Sir David Frost and Ludovic Kennedy? Not a shrinking violet among them, characters one-and-all, unrelenting in their pursuit of the fake and the phoney in public life but, yet, noticeably gracious and recognisably human at all times. Professional integrity was their by-word, not self-aggrandisement.

By comparison, Messrs Clarkson and Paxman couldn't hold a microphone to them...or is it simply a Jeremy thing?

G McCulloch,

47, Moffat Wynd, Saltcoats.

IT is difficult to swallow that in the midst of an obesity epidemic which most authorities blame on overeating with "fast-food" and "convenience-foods" being fingered as the main culprits that we find our public service broadcaster, the BBC, running a series The Billion Dollar Chicken Shop giving hours of free advertising exposure to Colonel Sanders and subliminally endorsing finger-lickin' chicken.

Is this really what we pay our licence-fees for?

I hope, in the interests of balance, there will be other programmes extolling the virtues of Mickey-Dee's burgers, Nando's spicy chicken and the epicurean delights delivered by right to your door by Wee Sammy's chip van. Perhaps a mini-series on the life of a Buckfast bottle, Downtheneck Abbey?

David J Crawford,

Flat 3/3 131 Shuna Street,

Glasgow..