KEITH Fort's column, 'A Black mark for the Red Cross' (LET, July 13), gave a grossly distorted view of the work of the British Red Cross and its sister society in France.

Currently, the British Red Cross owns four residential homes in the Midlands. The reason for our withdrawal from the homes is very straightforward: our area of expertise is short-term crisis response, not long-term care provision. This is not a new decision.

Since the British Red Cross became a unified charity in 1998, we have moved towards offering the same services nationwide. Our residential care homes were established when each county had its own Red Cross as an independent charity. Since then, a number of residential homes have been transferred to alternative care providers. The remaining homes are the last four to be handed over.

The British Red Cross now focuses on five core services: first aid, tracing and messaging, emergency response, short-term support to independent living and therapeutic are. Long-term residential care clearly falls outside of these categories.

However, we are not abandoning them homes or the people who live in them.

We are hopeful that a suitable care provider will be found. If this proves impossible, the Red Cross will continue to manage the homes until appropriate alternatives can be identified for each of our residents individually.

We are not refocusing our attention from older people to asylum seekers. People with disabilities and older people benefit in particular from our services. Older people are our largest client group. Our core services benefit the most vulnerable people in society. Obviously, as a result of their desperate circumstances, refugees will fall into that category -- but not significant numbers.

Keith Fort refers to the Sangatte shelter for refugees and asylum seekers in France. I would like to point out that was not "built by the French Red Cross" and no Red Cross national society, French or British, funds the shelter in any way.

The shelter is run by the French Red Cross, who were asked to do so by the French Government in September 1999. The French Government fully funds it and takes all decisions about its future.

If the Red Cross movement is to be trusted worldwide to carry out its mandate of humanitarian assistance, it is vital that the only judgment it makes is based on individuals' humanitarian need and not on any political or other motive.

I feel that, left uncorrected, Keith Fort's comments could have a very negative impact on donations and the morale of volunteers and staff. More importantly, it impacts on the many vulnerable people we support every day through our work in the UK and overseas.

JOHN SUTHERLAND, Operations Director, British Red Cross.