Gordon Brown's letter: Your comments

The letter of sympathy was apparently addressed to Mrs "James"

BBC News Online readers have been sharing their views on Gordon Brown after he apparently misspelled the name of a soldier in a letter of condolence.

Guardsman Jamie Janes, 20, from Brighton, East Sussex, was killed in an explosion in Afghanistan in October. His mother Jacqui called the letter a "hastily scrawled insult".

The prime minister has since telephoned her to say he was sorry "for any unintended mistake", adding that his writing could be "difficult to read".

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IN DEFENCE OF GORDON BROWN

I hold no brief for Gordon Brown but this is just pernicious Brown-Bashing for a simple mistake - and I can't believe it is the first time it has happened to Mrs Janes. I am amazed and touched that Mr Brown writes personally.
David Rose, London

I serve in the RAF and I am sympathise with Mrs Janes, but, I also think that people are human beings and make mistakes. I think it's very admirable that Mr Brown writes to the families of fallen servicemen and women as he is no doubt very busy. It's unfortunate that this mistake has occurred and I'm sure he feels terrible about it. I don't think it should be taken as an insult.
Anna, Eastbourne

As an ex-serviceman myself I can totally understand the upset that Mrs Janes would have felt at receiving the letter, but although Mr Brown may be guilty of many things, I don't believe he is a bad or uncaring person. Reflection is a great thing and I think we all do or say things in the heat of the moment that we later regret.
Peter, Stonehouse, England

If you have "Janes" as a surname you pretty soon get used to people misspelling, it - Jaynes, James, Jones - all get used.
Bob Janes, London

I was at secondary school with Gordon Brown, and it was well known that his handwriting was not the easiest to decipher, and that was before his accident. That does not of course excuse any actual errors in the letter to Jamie's mother, but I do not see the letter as an insult. I hope that she accepts his apology. No one could fail to feel sadness for her.
Fiona, Reading

The fact that the head of the country took the time to hand write a letter shows a lot of consideration - he could have had a typed letter made up and signed it. A letter written personally is a much more personal possession - well done Gordon.
Andy, Elgin

Good of the prime minister to write a personal letter not standard copied letter, or as when I served in armed services, a telegram!
Alan Baker, Clacton-on-sea

Can you imagine any other country where the prime minister would take the trouble to write a hand-written note? Would it have been preferable to send a typewritten letter that the PM had only signed? I think not. While no doubt the letter came at an extremely sensitive time it does represent a gesture which not every PM would have made.
Richard Watson, Macclesfield

I think its incredibly cheap political point-scoring. The fact that the prime minister takes the time to do this is what matters here. Surely it would be worse to receive a typed template document?
Will, London

It's a pity the letter could not have been accepted in the spirit in which it was sent. A few years ago, all anyone received was a cold hearted telegram from the War Office/MoD and not a hand written letter from the PM. I'm sure the PM was genuine in his sympathy, spelling errors or not.
Gordon Thompson, Derby

I am a trained typist and have had to and, in fact still do read handwriting far worse than that in the reproduction. I had no difficulty reading it at all. Mrs Janes should also take into consideration his poor eyesight, perhaps he was copying someone else's bad handwriting when the error in the names occurred.
Merrill Martin, UK

I have two children who are visually impaired and their handwriting is sometimes labelled as uncontrolled and untidy. I don't believe the PM meant any offence, he needn't have written at all. It is extremely unfortunate that Mrs Jane's has taken offence at this well meant gesture but it does highlight the public's lack of knowledge about visual impairment.
Mrs Parkinson, Bristol

CRITICISING BROWN

An absolute insult. It looks scrawled and rushed and ill thought out. It looks as if a child has written it with a fat felt tip - wrong type of pen to do it with. The spelling and grammar on a letter like this should be immaculate. If Gordon Brown himself cannot do this then maybe next time he should draft a letter first and get a "sanity check" by others on it before sending it. It's down to "attention to detail". It basically shows he does not really care, or is not really bothered, and if this is the case with a letter of condolence, God knows what he is doing to the country.
Nick Hawkes, Shefford, Bedfordshire

I think Gordon Brown's letter sums up the total disregard that he shows to all of the people of this country. He is an absolute disgrace and a disaster.
Peter Jessett, Sheerness, Kent

A letter presented in this way would not be acceptable from a nine-year-old. Shame!
John Lucy

I think this is an unforgivable mistake. He was either given the wrong name by somebody, who should be dismissed for negligence, considering a poor lad has died, and someone cannot even spell his name right. If this is not the case and the PM did misspell Jamie's last name then he has to say more than "sorry", he has to get on TV and reflect on why he has troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Peter Lawrence, Kingston

I think that this highlights the extent to which the Prime Minister's eyesight is failing, which should be of concern to us all. If he cannot write a letter to a bereaved mother correctly, then either his mental faculties are deteriorating - which I do not believe to be the case - or his eyesight is very poor. I'm sure that Mr Brown intended no disrespect, but he is clearly not up to the job and should step aside gracefully on grounds of ill health.
Lucy McGough, Durham

As someone who was born with the use of one eye only, this eye being perfectly normal, I find it a very shallow excuse blaming Gordon Brown's childhood eye injury for his bad writing. I understand that the injury was to only one of his eyes. Consequently he would be no worse off than I am. I have never had any trouble reading or writing legibly with my disability and I am much older than Gordon Brown.
John Wright, Selby, North Yorkshire

It's an insult. It looks like it's been scrawled in a felt tip pen, instead of neatly using a proper pen - even a cheap fine tipped biro would have been better. Gordon Brown has the social grace of a wild boar and this latest gaffe proves it.
Vanessa, Dudley, West Midlands

I wish people would stop using his eyesight as an excuse. I too lost an eye to a detached retina in my childhood and have vision of -19.25 in my good eye. I manage day to day, hold down a job and don't use it as an excuse when I make errors. This was a careless mistake. Does Mr Brown not have people who check these things before they get sent out?
David Harris, Beckenham