Sir – So, having denounced student protesters in Oxford — none of whom were arrested for their peaceful protests — as an ‘ugly, badly-dressed rabble’, Keith Mitchell, our elected leader of Oxfordshire County Council has succeeded in making things a whole lot worse by describing the protesters — most mere schoolchildren — as ‘a dangerous infection in our country which needs to be stamped on’.

Doesn’t this count as incitement to violence? And shouldn’t it be reported to the police?

Dr David Hendy, Oxford