Sir – Reg Little’s report on Vernon Bogdanor (July 16) was thought-provoking, but as an acclaimed foremost expert on the British Constitution, it’s surprising that the professor has such gaps in his knowledge and misconceptions.

He seems not to have heard of Magna Carta or the Bill of Rights 1688(9), described by Edmund Burke as the great cornerstone of our Constitution.

The Professor would also do well to study the works of Tom Paine, the 18th-century political philosopher, who knew about the sort of problems we face today with our political class.

When Bogdanor proposes it’s “time to slice up power, with hefty chunks of it passed downwards”, I suspect that Tom Paine would have been horrified.

Yes, we do need local accountability, but the real trouble is that Parliament (or rather our rulers) believe they have a free hand. They don’t, they’re bound by the rule of law, ie our written Constitution.

Unfortunately, Bogdanor helps perpetuate the myth, having taught his one-time student, and prospective PM, David Cameron this. He should go out of his way to unteach him, or otherwise we may end up with more of the same.

Constitutions were there to circumscribe the power of Kings and this limiting of powers has been, or should have been, passed down to their successors, parliamentarians and governments.

Pitt the Elder, was aware of the threat when he said: “. . . instead of the arbitrary power of a Stuart king, we must submit to the arbitrary power of the House of Commons.

If this be true, what benefit do we derive from the exchange?

Tyranny my Lords, is detestable in every shape, but none so formidable as where it is assumed and exercised by a number of tyrants. My Lords this is not the fact, this is not the Constitution, we have a law of parliament. We have a Statute Book and the Bill of Rights.” The solution is to make our political classes obey the law. We don’t need to mess with what’s perfectly adequate, just enforce it.

David Barnby, Witney