The queen's handshake

Sir, – Papers released in the UK in 2009 under the 30-year rule indicate the policy of Margaret Thatcher regarding meeting with…

Sir, – Papers released in the UK in 2009 under the 30-year rule indicate the policy of Margaret Thatcher regarding meeting with those whom she considered terrorists. In her response to a 1979 suggestion by the then foreign secretary Lord Carrington that members of his staff meet Robert Mugabe prior to the Lancaster House agreement that resulted in him becoming leader of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, Mrs Thatcher wrote: “I have never [underlined] done business with terrorists until they become prime ministers.” – Yours, etc,

JAMES QUINN,

Berkshire Drive,

Sterling Heights,

Michigan,