All style and no substance

Aa the husband of a successful career woman and father of a newly graduated daughter with entrepreneurial ambitions I have to take issue with your “Brightest and Best” feature. The high achieving 35 women under 35 group should be praised for their determination and success but to have them wearing short skirts and high heels in an overt sexual manner defeats the object of your article.

Kate Hampton, who was persuaded to lounge in a chair, admits herself that “the real problem was getting people to take me seriously” — her photo does nothing to help her, and other businesswomen, however successful she may be. Such things should be left to Style Magazine.

Richard Watts, Tavistock, Devon

Estate agents should accept blame

Following the response by Lionel Mendoza that lenders were to blame, I would point out that a lot of agents now have in-house “financial advisors” who during the boom period “assisted” buyers by sourcing finance.

When my wife and I were looking to buy, one local agency sent their “valuer” round (a chap who, unlike the commercial world where we are required to have qualifications and are regulated could have been pulling pints the day before) to assess our house and he would not leave until he had attempted for more than an hour to persuade us to borrow an additional six figures that their expert could source.

I think all sides have to accept that, while the primary lenders have relaxed their requirements regarding LTVs etc, all players, including agents, have to accept they happily jumped on the bandwagon. Perhaps if we are going to install draconian lending restrictions on lenders then estate agents should also be regulated more heavily in order to prevent this happening again.

However, as we are currently in the phase of the cycle where there is the blame passing game ongoing it will take an age for realism to emerge I am sure.

Name and address supplied, Pinner, London

Jail cannot hold Madoff

It cannot be long before it is announced that Bernie Madoff has a potentially fatal illness that requires his early release from jail on compassionate grounds. I am sure that to his wife and sons this revelation will be as big a surprise as the fact that, without their knowing it, he had been operating the world’s most ruinous Ponzi scheme.

Michael Cole, Laxfield, Suffolk

• Send your letters, including full name and address, to: The Sunday Times, Business Section, 1 Pennington Street, London E98 1ST

e-mail: letters@sunday-times.co.uk