Letter to The Editor - We need more magnanimity and less partisan outrage in our public forums

To The Australian        There is a lot to be said for Hugh Trevor-Roper's defence of British traitor Anthony Blunt ("Scholar with a grudge over Cambridge snub brought spy Blunt to book", 6/7). Yes, he had been elected a fellow of the British Academy "for his scholarship, not his politics, morals or patriotism." A similar magnanimity does not seem to have been shown to historian David Starkey ("Historian quits over slavery outrage", 6/7). Starkey used inappropriate language in a recent interview, but the actual case he made appears to be sound. Being ousted from Cambridge University and HarperCollins seems an excessive punishment. We need more magnanimity and less partisan outrage in our public forums. We also need a sense of balance, undisturbed by fanaticism.
  Nigel Jackson, Belgrave, Vic