Letter: Commons parlance

Sir: Being a plattdeutsch - Low German - speaker myself, I was glad to see your paper ('German MPs sound out the Middle Ages', 15 January) reporting a debate in the German parliament held in a language other than German, even though I noticed the mocking attitude in your article.

Equally, should not the House of Commons lift the ban on the use of Welsh, Gaelic, Scots etc - as well as providing a decent translation service - so that all MPs would have the right to use their respective mother tongues rather than only native English speakers?

Yours sincerely,

HUBERT GIESCHEN

London, SE27

16 January