The article on oysters (The £1 oyster: cut-price shellfish is all the rage – but is eating it advisable?, 27 October) brought to mind the significant role that a single oyster played historically in the decline of the Liberal party.
In December 1914, Percy Illingworth, the universally respected Liberal chief whip, ate what turned out to be a bad oyster and died soon after from typhoid, aged only 45.
