Why was court case chosen as front page?

i kNOW before i start to write this there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of it being published. However, if it changes anything in your paper’s attitudes then it’s worth me doing this.

i have always had the Mercury daily and it is delivered to me for over 50 years. i recently wrote a letter to this page which i also knew wouldn’t be published because it was critical of the Tories in a big way, not just a passing criticism.

Saturday’s front page was of a man of colour who spat at a police officer. While this is totally unacceptable, it is hardly front page news when Leicester is suffering from this additional lockdown. The really important story was hidden on Page 2.

in my opinion the front page

headline should have read “Government not giving city firms additional funding a ‘massive mistake.’”

You are called the Leicester Mercury, which infers you are for this city.

Start showing us where your allegiance lies. After all you rely on businesses to advertise in your paper, businesses which are currently having a bad time in Leicester. Also you rely on folk buying your paper.

We need some support in this city and please, if you are trying to apportion blame for this further outbreak in the city, try please be fair and not always finding pictures of people of colour to cynically prove a point or shift blame from government.

We have always been the Cinderella of England and, as Terry Wogan once called us, the Lost City. Literally because he couldn’t find us.

You are this city’s paper and we need you to fight our corner.

Jackie Caunt, Leicester

■ Editor’s note: Thank you for your observations. It was an editorial decision to go with the court case on the front, if only as a break from Covid19. It was, however, a subjective decision and your point is noted. The story you preferred was also a contender, as illustrated by the prominent boost on the front page and its placing as lead story on Page 2.

The Mercury is apolitical and tries to achieve a balance of fairness in all our reporting. We are certainly not anti-Leicester in any way whatsoever, quite the opposite, and indeed supported local businesses both inpaper and online with our We Are Open campaign just last month.

We also strongly refute any suggestion that our choice of words or pictures are biased towards any of the city’s communities.

Thank you for your thoughts and being such a loyal reader over many decades.