Ethnic origins

I was taken aback to note your description of Freddie Starr as the “English comedian” (your report, 8 October).

This unusual and surprisingly specific ethnic description was especially puzzling to me because, in the same edition, you report on the performance of a person called Mark Steel, who apparently attempted a comedic manner at the Traverse Theatre recently.

His specific ethnicity was not mentioned, but a search on the internet reveals that he probably shares the same “English” ethnicity as Mr Starr.

I suggest that you either raise such ethnic distinctions every time you mention a particular person, or better still, that you don’t mention them at all.

Alistair McConnachie

Bath Street

Glasgow