I wish to object to the totally distasteful comments and assertions made by Matthew Sinclair of the Taxpayers’ Alliance (The Issue, January 24), regarding pensioners’ bus passes.

He belongs to an organisation which does a lot of talking but makes little, or no, contribution to the benefit of the country.

He has been to university and found himself with a nice, quiet life achieving very little.

How dare he make such crude assertions about our senior citizens of which I am one.

Most of us spent 40 or more years in fulltime work, paid all our rates, council tax, and national insurance contributions, and have never been trouble to anyone. A high proportion of us in retirement are still paying income tax and are excluded from claiming any benefits.

At the same time all the lazy people of all ages and immigrants, both legal and illegal, are allowed to claim large sums of my money without any reference to me.

So, on the subject of concessionary bus passes may I remind him that despite over the 57 years I, and millions more of us, have paid our taxes, we are now seen as a burden on society.

In fact we are the generation which has kept this country going and are continually shunned by governments of all persuasions. We have all paid for our bus pass over many years. We get very little else so is it too much to ask for? As we get older and cannot drive, the only way we can go anywhere is by bus.

What a godsend that is. It is clear that Mr Sinclair comes from the modern world of non-jobs, tax credits, and getting time off to look after babies. You have got it made, so don’t you dare make such crude and uncalled for comments about us.

Mr Sinclair should make a full and unreserved apology to the senior citizens of our country.

Lionel Lewis, Bicester