Maurice Stonefrost

Roger Henderson, QC, writes: There are very few expert witnesses whose evidence is so authoritative that it is accepted unquestioningly by all concerned. Maurice Stonefrost (obituary, Nov 7) was a member of that select band. His depth of knowledge of local government finance and funding was nonpareil in the early 1980s.

It was a time when the GLC, of which he was the Comptroller, in effect the chancellor of the London exchequer with a budget already in the billions, was at loggerheads with the Thatcher Government. Under Ken Livingstone judicial review cases flourished, and in those days the GLC still had to provide annual money bills in Parliament.

Both the judicial review cases and the money bills required authoritative, reliable and completely accurate statements about the financial ramifications involved. They were all or almost all provided by Maurice and because of that provenance there was never any debate in court or Parliament about this evidence. This was testament to his unerring eye for detail and precise use of language in circumstances where other lesser men would have been challenged.

Maurice had a twinkle in his eye when explaining what to others was dry as dust. He was courteous, understated and a very wise and clever comptroller who stood above the political fray beneath.

Clive Barnes

Eric Mason writes: Your obituary of Clive Barnes (Nov 20) mentions that in the early 1960s he was concurrently the dance critic of a number of daily, weekly and monthly publications, including The Times. This was fine by producers and performers if Clive liked the show but highly irksome to them when he did not. After one Royal Ballet production at Covent Garden the company’s founder and director, Dame Ninette de Valois, was so enraged to read adverse Barnes reviews wherever she turned that she took him out to what he told me was a decidedly uncomfortable lunch. I don’t think it had the slightest difference on his ubiquity.

Stefan Buzás

Roger Simpson writes: In my second year as a student at Kingston School of Architecture in the Forties, doubts assailed me about my chosen profession until Stefan Buzás came along (obituary, Nov 17) as my tutor. He sat beside me at the drawing board.

He talked, drew, sketched and revelled in the process of design. He pointed me in the right direction, showed me the way ahead. I never looked back and went on to the Architectural Association to complete my course. What a teacher, what a designer, and what an ability to inspire.