On March 31 Andrew Gilligan devoted two pages in The Sunday Telegraph to attacking the campaign to reform the press. His thesis is that the campaign is being orchestrated by the authoritarian left. Since the letter we sent in reply was not published, we have chosen to post it below so that others can read it. Letter to the Editor: Sunday Telegraph SIR – Contrary to what Andrew Gilligan (S. Telegraph, March 31) suggested, criticism of the shortcomings of press is not a veiled threat to control it. The press’s self-regulatory system has failed, which is why the majority in Parliament want to reform it. The desire to go beyond this, and impose a cap on the size of press groups, is not the stuff of authoritarian politics. It is something urged by a wide political spectrum from former Conservative prime minister, John Major, to opposition leader, Ed Miliband. Professor James Curran Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, London SE14 6NW