to think that Gordon Brown was writing with good intentions to the mother of the dead soldier.......does handwriting really matter??

[SquirrelTrap]

I think it is all rather unfair.

I would prefer a scrawled personally written letter than a spell-checked standard Word document letter? I think it is all rather nasty.

as an ex-soldier myself and my DP is going to afgan soon, I would so be offended if I got a letter spelling my DP's name wrong. The British Army always get the shit end of things and it's right that the Army is in the limelight........

If he can't be arsed to get the spelling right he shouldn't have bothered at all, like the lady said I would have rather had a typed letter than a mis-splelt one.

I am sorry.

If someone gave their life for a member of my family I think I might try to spell their name correctly.

It is deeply unfashionable to spell correctly and be accurate and take care over spelling, syntax etc.

YANBU. The Sun paid her handsomely for her interview and quotes, no doubt. That's the part that makes DH totally cynical. He can't believe this has been a headline all day.

I meant your comment about sending a text claricebeansmum.

Having heard this story on the radio and tv a number of times today, it is only after the six o clock news that I realised it was Janes and not James.

I hold no love for GB but I don't think he deserves the villification he has received at the Sun's hands for this unfortunate mistake.

Agree HLH. And I am a pedant.

so it's ok that she's got paid?! she has lost her son in a war that isn't ours to fight, why shouldn't she highlight the fact the PM doesn't give a shit??

I feel really sad about this.

GB has just got very messy handwriting. How awful to have such a fuss made when he was doing his best to send his condolences to a grieving mother - a mother who found every little potential error and took it to a national newspaper.

This man is not exactly someone who sits on his arse all day with nothing to do - he is busy. He writes messily just the same as a vast number of other people who have to write a lot - doctors being prime examples.

I actually feel surprisingly about this. All the 'ringed' words could have just been crappy handwriting, not misspellings.

Are those posters taking the Sun's line making full allowance for Brown's significant visual impairment? Spelling mistakes are one thing (and admittedly crap) but to have a go at a man for bad handwriting when he has significant difficulties with his sight is just silly.

ok - obviously it is not really an appropriate phrase that I used but I think I am with SquirrelTrap on this one. When I lost my sister I was grateful for the letters that people took the time to write and Gordon Brown could have a standard typed letter that he sends to everyone.

Having seen the interview with the mother it looks like it is the PM's handwriting that is the issue more than his spelling - your appearing as you repeatedly and even the word Jamie is not mis-spelled just bady written. It would have been better to check the surname obviously but surely these things happen. Personally I think it is actually quite mean of his mother to go the press with this.

he should have typed a letter and signed it then if he's got so many problems!!!!

The reason is hand writing is so bad is because he is going blind.
He is totally blind in one eye and is losing his sight in the other.
Give the guy a break!

Maybe so hoops, and then the Murdoch press would have had a go at him for sending out 'form' letters to the families of dead soldiers

I repeat - this is about Murdoch wanting Brown out, no more, no less.

Perhaps he thought a hand-written letter was more personal?

I think that maybe he shouldn't bother and spend his time sending out the equipment our boys need and are not getting......

I think Brown did a nice thing writing this letter. He's partially blind and running the country so I think you can forgive him for it being scrawled surely?? A bit of a spiteful story I think.

poor bloke cant do write for doing wrong ( can you see what i did there) - at least he bloody tried.

i agree herbie I'm fed up and angry that every time I turn the TV on there is another young life been wasted in Afgan......this is just an insult added to injury.

I just think it is unfair criticism and would be damned if he did or damned if he didn't - the Sun has an agenda and a willing victim Mrs Janes ...

I have appalling hand writing and I'm very very self concious about it.

I therefore do all my letters on the computer, which helps me, but its nowhere near as personal as a hand written note.

The 300,000 soldiers killed in the Somme didn;t get hand written letters from the PM, now when people do get personally hand written letters they are so offended that they go to the press.

Yes, he has very poor eyesight, that excuses some of the TWENTY errors in the letter. But overwriting a letter in the man's name when he got it wrong? He would have known he had done that, it should have be rewritten. And there is absolutely NO excuse for not knowing the last name, hearing it incorrectly is not a justification, these things should be CHECKED.

His private secretary should be getting a massive kicking for this. FFS, he has his briefing notes printed in a massive font, they all know he has poor eyesight, someone should be checking every single word of each of these letters. I am not surprised that mother is furious.

I think he tried the personal touch but failed due to poor handwriting and spelling most likely due to his terrible failing eyesight.

The Sun are a bunch of nasty bastards who delight in crucifying him.

ach Jesus, give the guy a break. He can't do anything right!

Poor sod tries to do a nice thing. If he'd typed it, he would have been criticised for that too no doubt.