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By allowing that "the reputation of the university, as a key institution of society, lies in its fearless pursuit of the truth", Malcolm Gillies succeeded in lifting at least one of my eyebrows a good deal closer to my hairline - no small elevation ("Truth is our profession", 24 March). It was London Metropolitan University, after all, that a couple of years ago was charged with dramatically understating its student dropout rates and made to return ?36.5 million of public money; and while, to be fair, this bit of demographic fantasia was conjured by a previous administration, Gillies' brief for probity in the academy could start with a look nearby.

Abbott Katz, London