08/03/04

Far from there being no EU dimension to the 'regionalisation' debate, it is entirely EU driven.

The evidence showing the true nature and purpose of 'regionalisation' exists in abundance. Furthermore, this vital information has been presented on many occasions to newspaper editors, TV stations, radio presenters and persons of influence.

If we are being lied to and not given the facts of the matter, never can it be claimed that we are participating in an 'informed' debate.

The current drive towards 'regionalisation', which is constantly and erroneously referred to as 'Home Rule', is not, and never was, a proposition based on any popular demand. The 'roots' of this phoney doctrine emanate totally from the EU (Indeed the full name of the EU is, The European Union of the Regions).

The 'plan' was signalled loudly in the Single European Act, signed by Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Government in 1987.

Finally the Nice Treaty signed by Tony Blair in 2000 set out in detail how the UK was to be 'sovietised' to meet the requirements of the EU. - Dave Pascoe, Press Secretary, Hartlepool Branch, UK Independence Party.

CRUCIFIXION

IF Mel Gibson's account of Christ's Passion and death is true to the Gospel narratives, it will be no more anti-Semitic than a factual account of the war between the States will be anti-American.

Both Christ's friends and enemies were Jewish and the Passion narratives record the outcome of an eternal struggle in first century Judaism, with theology and politics combining in an explosive mixture.

Indeed with the exception of a Roman official and a few soldiers, everyone in the Gospels is a Jew, and the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Twelve more than counterbalance the High Priests and Herod for the candid reader.

You cannot adjust historical records because they are inconvenient, though politicians will always try, and the conviction of the Gospel writers that the central figure in their narratives was the Son of God does not make them bad chroniclers of the events of His life.

Indeed, if you believe that you are writing about God Incarnate, who is the Truth, as well as the Way and the Life, you will be more than usually scrupulous. - TJ Towers, Durham.

H SMITH attacks Christianity for persecuting Jews (HAS, Mar 2) and, true enough, in the long history of Christianity there have been disgraceful, though rare, anti-Jewish outbreaks.

However, in terms of its Jewish victims, no way can Christianity begin to compare with atheism: between them, Hitler and Stalin murdered, tortured and deported untold millions of Jews.

Those two blood-soaked pieces of filth were both committed atheists. - Tony Kelly, Crook.

RAF USWORTH

YOU reported (Echo, Mar 2) about demolition of the old aircraft hangar at the former RAF Usworth site, now occupied by the Nissan car factory.

You said that it was believed to have been designed by Dr Barnes Wallis, the designer of the Wellington bomber and later the Dambusters' bouncing bombs.

It may be of interest for you to know that Dr Wallis may not have designed the hangar, as it was built for the Royal Air Force in about 1926 by the German Lamella Company.

In the subsequent war, according to a German Luftwaffe target map, the Germans naturally knew exactly the whereabouts of Usworth. German bombs missed the hangar and other buildings and, from an aircraft, crop marks of bomb craters can still be seen in the fields near the motorway bridge.

As the former president of the Sunderland Flying Club, I was sad to hear about the demise of the hangar and I did try many years ago to get it listed. The authorities disagreed that it was a German hangar but I hope that they are now hanging their heads in shame.

Incidentally, Usworth contained some other rare structures and these were retractable Hamilton forts, which could pop up out of the ground at the runway sides and open fire with machine guns at any attempted landing by German troop-carrying aircraft. They were never used but one can still be seen on display in the car park of the Sunderland Air Museum. - Raymond Selkirk, Chester-le-Street.

WINTER ROADS

IN bad winters along comes the snow plough followed by the gritters and then millions of vehicles, but very often this is not enough to keep the roads viable.

Is it not possible that a thermos/mechanical/electrical device could be fitted to all vehicle exhaust pipes so that when the road surface is near to freezing point, the hot exhaust gasses are diverted from all the millions of vehicles to the road surface?

The heat from the millions of gallons of petrol burned should be enough to keep the roads above freezing point. - E. Reynolds, Wheatley Hill.

IMMIGRATION

I READ with interest the article on people escaping oppression by coming to England.

It is not them I am concerned about, rather the larger numbers being illegally smuggled into our country by gangsters. My guess is 100,000 per year and to say we have always taken immigrants, perhaps referring to Anglo-Saxons, then Vikings, then Normans, misses the fact that nowadays it has never been easier to get into the UK due to modern transport.

Just think of the strain on our water supply if we get a series of dry summers, not to mention schools, transport, social services, hospitals. - F Atkinson, Shincliffe.

PARKING

ON a recent visit to our new hospital in Chester-le-Street, I was very disappointed to see how few disabled parking bays had been provided. There were four to be exact.

All other bays were in the area where motorists had to pay £1 to get out of the car park.

Surely a hospital should expect more than four disabled people to attend a clinic in a day. There were more spaces for bikes.

With all the ground that was wasted on the front of the hospital, more facilities could have been provided, but I think the priority was given to the £1-paying park. - GW Rutter, Pelton Fell.

LIGHT BULBS

I WAS very interested to read that council tenants in Darlington are to be supplied with four free low energy light bulbs.

Can I ask why? Should this not be made available to everybody who is struggling to keep up with the present rise in council tax.

I am sure that some tenants will have had a lot more money through their hands than people who are buying their own homes.

Should it not also be made available to people who only have their pension but live in their own homes?

I will be interested to see if other people think the same way as I do. - Catherine Bourke, Darlington.