CATRIONA Stewart writes in criticism of Jacob Rees-Mogg's comments upon the Grenfell Tower calamity ("The real horror of Rees-Mogg's Grenfell comments", The Herald November 8). Efforts by his Conservative colleagues to dig him out of his self-inflicted hole have, in my opinion, failed miserably.

She questions the reasons for this "jolly toff'" being considered to be "very clever". To her remarks I would add the comment that there continues to be a major problem in this country with regard to judgments on intelligence being made on people based on how they speak. It is maintained that there is a "class ceiling" in some areas in the world of employment, which favours those with certain accents over others regardless of academic merit. As a result, many top firms recruit in the main from those whose accents confirm a background of privilege. There is a widespread assumption that the posher the voice the higher the IQ. So some people think of Jacob Rees-Mogg.

It is time that this stereotyping of people in the UK with regard to how they speak is progressively dismantled together with other class-ridden attitudes since, for as long as they exist, the aspiration of equal opportunity for all, regardless of background, will remain a pious hope to be wheeled out at elections.

Ian W Thomson, Lenzie.