In brief 2

I am unsure how to catalogue the statement from the Department for Education and Skills (For the record, THES , July 26) that higher education applications are "a free market". Do I file it under the duke of Wellington's "believe that, sir, and you'll believe anything" or Mandy Rice-Davies's "Well (he) would say that, wouldn't he"?

Alan Hallsworth
Alsager, Cheshire