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You report that Gillian Shephard has asked the Privy Council to speed up the process of conferring university status on Bolton Institute (É«ºÐÖ±²¥S, January 3). Worthy as Bolton is, this represents a reversal of Government policy. No doubt, though, we can be confident that the Secretary of State's action has nothing to do with the imminence of the general election and the number of Tory marginals in and around Bolton.

Paul Probyn London N13