SIR: As editor of Hulton Park's Labour Link, I spend a great deal of time correcting the misleading articles which regularly appear in the Lib Dems' Focus. Rae Hill, in his letter concerning Manchester Airport shares (BEN: April 2), has now extended the Lib Dems' campaign of misinformation to the pages of BEN.

If Focus leads people to believe that Bolton Council is spending money on an unnecessary luxury with no tangible benefit, then it is hardly surprising that many of them think it is a bad idea. Perhaps they would change their minds if they knew the full story. I was therefore pleased to see your report (April 6) that the 10 districts of Greater Manchester which own the airport have received £70M in dividends over the last decade.

For tax reasons, Bolton, along with the other nine Districts, has converted dividends into new shares. In years to come, these will provide a steady income and ease the burden on Council Tax payers. All parties, including the Lib Dems, agreed to this.

There was an outside chance that some Districts would not take up their full quota of shares. Acting on professional advice, Labour decided that if this happened the Council would buy extra shares as an investment for the future. The Tories supported this, but the Lib Dems didn't. As anticipated, there were no shares left over, and no money was spent.

Joyce Kellett,

Mount Pleasant Street, Horwich, Bolton.

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