WHERE has E Denison been for the last 20 years, on a trip to Mars ("Tips for chief execs", Letters, December 11)? I left the civil service in 1995 and management by objectives (MBO) had been in use for years.

Like many other innovations in the civil service, it was an American import that had already failed at source. In the American administration the "buck" was supposed to stop at the President's desk. In Britain, MBO was a device for passing the buck back down the line. The poor infantry took the blame for failure, not the generals.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, tremendous savings were made in my department and not one penny was made available "as a bonus for distribution within the department". As for the manipulation of final salary pension, I can confirm that is true - downwards!

In the many years that Thatcher imposed cash limits with enforced pay increases, the final bill for pay always came in well below the cash limits. As a result of that carrying through into pensions, she cost me at least 20 per cent of my pension.

Let me finally nail the lie that service pensions are free. Throughout my service an amount has always been deducted from the pay-pot before salaries were agreed for year past.

K Barnes,

North View,

Catterton.

Updated: 09:36 Monday, December 29, 2003