So Peter Elliott, former aviation director, was ‘utterly frightened’ when appearing in person in the High Court.

We must sympathise. How would a lawyer feel if, on arriving at the airport, he was told that without any training he must fly the aeroplane himself with only such assistance as he could get by ‘asking around’ in the pilots’ canteen?

There should be duty pilots, either paid for by the Civil Aviation Authority or supplied pro bono by the airlines to act as guides outside the check-ins. Or, perhaps those who require skilled professional services should pay for them.

John Bunting, Bunting and Riley, Buxton, Derbyshire