08/01/04

As for medals for war service, I believe a person meriting a medal should have it presented.

I quote my case which is one of many thousand of others who do not have a war medal.

In 1940 I joined the ARP as a First Aider, taking part in the rescue, and applying first aid to victims of several aid raids in our town. The last one was in May 1943.

In December 1943, I joined the Merchant Navy and on New Year's Eve, 200 miles from Iceland and in the Gulf Stream, my ship was torpedoed, and again on January 3, 1944.

This time I had to swim before being hauled into a lifeboat. I then voyaged to the US, Africa and the Middle East. Then in 1945, the Far East, where we prepared for the invasion of Malaya.

On returning home when the war ended, all and sundry were informed that if we wanted any medals we had to apply for them.

Without medals, I proudly attend the Armistice Service held every year. - GB Bell, Sunderland.

EUROPE

THE letter from Mr Heslop (HAS, Jan 2) contains several mistakes.

The recent conference on the European constitution did not have a federal European state as its main purpose. Nor did Ted Heath mislead the country in any way in his open declaration to the House of Commons on April 9 1975, when he said: "We have to go back to the primary purpose of the European Community when it was founded... it was not a federal but a political purpose, the political purpose was to absorb the new Germany into the structure of the European family, and economic means were adopted for that very political purpose." - DJ Whittaker, Richmond.

Darlington FC

THE future of Darlington Football Club is precarious. The fans feel the blame lies firmly at the feet of George Reynolds and the crowd chant for blood.

Is this same George Reynolds that the fans chanted "Show us your scarf, George" not so long ago? The same George Reynolds who settled £5m worth of debt from his own personal bank account. The same George Reynolds who built probably the finest football stadium in the area.

Yes, the same George Reynolds whose only guilt was risking his own personal fortune striving for the stars while standing in the gutter. The bitter experience George Reynolds has had to endure over the last months would have broken a lesser man.

Now is the time for the fans, the council, the town and The Northern Echo to stand by the team and George Reynolds. - Name and address supplied.

AIR TRAVEL

OVER the holiday period, many of us will have been taking advantage of apparently cheap flights but it's important that we recognise the true costs of subsidised aviation.

The assumption that the Government's massive airport expansion programme is a pragmatic response to 'economic realities' has no basis in fact. The reality is that demand for cheap flights is almost entirely caused by taxpayers' £9bn-a-year subsidisation of the aviation industry. The main indication of this is that aviation fuel, unlike any other fuel for transport, is tax exempt.

Without this there would be no cheap flights.

Moreover, the aviation industry will not stimulate economic growth. It is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, climate change damage costs £500bn a year, and the economic impact can already be seen in - for example - snow-free ski resorts.

The long-term effects of encouraging such irresponsible policies is economic disaster. What is certain is that airport expansion will devastate local communities and cause noise, air and road pollution.

A genuinely pragmatic approach would be to stop fuelling aviation with tax breaks and benefits that no other industry receives. - Pamela Woolner, North-East Green Party European Election Candidate.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

I WAS interested to read Tony Kelly's defence (HAS, Jan 6) of his original letter, which called for the public torture and execution of the Soham murderer.

One does feel that slow burning is far too mild an end for such a criminal. However, as a bleeding heart liberal myself, I feel life imprisonment is the best we can do.

The practical problems of public torture and execution do seem insuperable; though I dare say, from the tone of his letters, Mr Kelly will cheerfully volunteer for the task. - Peter Wilson, Barnard Castle.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

THE injustice suffered by Tony Martin (pictured) for defending himself and property from burglars who should not have been there at all, shows how the legal authorities give more support to criminals than law-abiding people. - N Tate, Darlington.

TUITION FEES

NEW Labour is about to impose a new poll tax on students. Called top-up fees, this new tax will stop some of our poorest youngsters going to university.

Ability will no longer be the measure of whether someone can go on to a university degree. Ability to pay will be the real test.

The Labour Government says that students will only have to pay later. But would you, at the age of 17 or 18, want to take on a £15,000 or £20,000 debt?

Many students will think twice about going to university. Many others will only be able to go to cheaper universities. The richest will be able to afford to educate themselves, while the poorest are left behind.

The Labour Party's election manifesto in 2001 promised: "We will not introduce 'top-up' fees and have legislated to prevent them."

They are about to break that promise. Every Labour MP who votes to support the Government in getting this legislation through will be breaking their promise to the people who voted them in.

The Liberal Democrats believe that a young person's access to higher education should depend on their ability, not their ability to pay. - Phil Willis, MP for Harrogate & Knaresborough, Liberal Democrat Shadow Education Secretary.