IN his poignant, if somewhat irate letter about care for the elderly, Chris Greenwell (HAS, Feb 23) makes a cogent case for injecting more Government resources in his first three paragraphs, only to fall into the usual xenophobic trap of laying the blame on the “immigrants who have not paid in and only extract, etc”.

He plunges deeper into his misinformation hole by claiming, without offering validating evidence, that “this country’s own domestic needs always seem to come second to those of some blighted country’s needs”.

As if this were not enough to pacify his anger, he advises our political masters to surrender this country’s noble tradition of assuming the role of global policeman.

Let me assure him that most of the elderly among the immigrant population are diligently looked after by their families, a cultural tradition they are justly proud of.

In a moment of calm reflection, your correspondent should ponder why this practice is not universal in the Western world. He will then understand that aiming for the apparently soft targets for our social problems is neither fair nor helpful to those in need of care.

It may be a cliché, but we should always remember that a society is judged by the manner in which it treats its elderly.

Dr Abdul Jaleel, Darlington.