Letters: Briefly

l WHY spend upwards of pounds 160 return travelling to Portugal when, by using Eurostar, strikingly similar buildings are to be found in Le Mans for pounds 99? Your picture (Travel, 31 May) was wrong.

Jean Loutz

Senlisse, France

l WHILE naturally delighted that Maggie O'Farrell thought so highly of Alan Warner's novel The Sopranos, (Review, 31 May), I was puzzled by the stern knuckle-rapping delivered in response to the author's "irksome habit of self-referentiality in odd, supposedly intriguing signs. 'Take in A/W' ... Whose initials are those, I wonder?" This "A/W" is a proof mark and the book she was reading was a proof copy.

Robin Robertson

Jonathan Cape

l JEFF Howell's claim (Business, 31 May) that there is a "lack of concerted government action in tackling" cowboy builders is untrue. I launched a consultation paper, "Combating Cowboy Builders", which sets out proposals to deal with the problem. These include offering lists of approved builders to consumers and establishing a form of "kite-mark" to identify those which meet prescribed standards.

Nick Raynsford

Minister for London