A word of support for the BBC

Sir, As someone who was a producer with BBC Radio for many years and who has worked with BBC Television, it's inevitable that I hold a great affection for what I consider a national treasure. The BBC is the most highly regarded and prestigious broadcasting organisation in the world. In the last twenty years when working in media relations I was having a great deal of daily contact with them and my trust in them was second to none. Great Britain and the BBC are important to each other and I would hope that despite some very real questions of recent days we will continue to honour the integrity of an overwhelming majority of a superb group of professionals who are a major asset not only to our national but international life as well. The BBC faces challenges on all fronts, whether it be through the role of Ofcom, Charter Renewal and the License Fee debate as well as new opportunities presented by the communications revolution. The BBC's commitment to the nation is vital. So is ours to them. While the outfall of the Hutton Report signifies a degree of withdrawal from things many of us literally grew up to trust, I believe – as a professional colleague that there remains a huge amount of credit in the bank. The true sign of greatness is to allow them to get it wrong occasionally and not to hold it against them. Perhaps as a superficial aside we on this island need to remind ourselves that we don't even pay for it – but at the end of the day that is neither here nor there when professional standards are at stake.
Robert Ellis
Anglican Chaplain of Majorca and former BBC Radio
Producer, Programme
Presenter and Director of Communications for the Bishop of
Lichfield.
Palma airport is a nightmare
Dear Sir, All the tourist propaganda for Majorca cannot compensate for the anger and frustration experienced at Palma airport.
Our Austrian Airlines plane arrived at 16.00 on Sunday, January 11. We were the only passengers the whole length of the luggage collection hall even so, we had to wait 45 minutes for our luggage which at the last moment was switched to another belt. A couple of days later I went to the airport to collect a friend in a wheelchair.
Although I spent an hour after her plane's arrival, I missed her as no one on the various desks was willing to try to help and find her. Everyone passed me back and forth from one desk to another, at the different ends of the airport. No one really tried to help. On the 22nd I left Palma again at midday and found every shop and bar/kiosk on terminal C closed.
As our plane had one hour delay, it was most inconvenient not to be able to buy anything to eat or drink.
The only information available was to go all the way back, through security, to the main cafeteria. If you are old you cannot go this distance again. Perhaps you can find out why everything was closed for passengers.