Johnson at the Carlton

sir – I daresay I am not alone in finding Lord Lexden’s criticism (Letters, January 13) of the portrait of Boris Johnson in the Carlton Club misguided.

Despite his relatively short tenure, Mr Johnson has more signal achievements to his name than some of those already hanging on the club’s walls (including his immediate predecessor), and he is still held in high regard by many grassroots party members.

Roger White

Sherborne, Dorset

sir – While in no way supporting the idea of honouring any ignoble individual, I cannot agree with Lord Lexden.

As the Carlton Club has on its walls a portrait of every Conservative prime minister since the Duke of Wellington, the inclusion of Boris Johnson does not amount to praise of him – it is simply confirming a historical fact.

I recall when obituaries in the

Telegraph featured only the great and the good. The decision to include the notorious and disreputable resulted in much more interesting reading. Nicholas Young

London W13