IRAQ

HOW fickle is public opinion. Not so long ago Tony Blair was a hero, now he's cast in the role of villain, his fall from grace being, of course, due to the failure to find WMDs in Iraq.

And yes, it looks likely they're not there.

But one thing David Kay's interim report makes clear is that, absent or not, preparations for their manufacture were well advanced. So, OK, Saddam fooled Western intelligence into believing they were more advanced than they were.

What was the Prime Minister supposed to do -- assume Saddam was bluffing and do nothing?

Tony Blair had no choice but to act and, at the very least, he rescued a nation from tyranny and eliminated a major threat to world peace.

In my book he still deserves public thanks, not vilification. - Tony Kelly, Crook.

TAXATION

AT Bournemouth the smile of a buoyant economy seems to have left the Chancellor's face and increasing the tax on fuel shows how bereft he is of any new ideas.

Why not, as someone suggested, put a tax on coffee. Prices can vary from one place to another as much as 20p a cup.

With a world-wide glut of coffee it's estimated that the average £1 can yield up to 1,000 per cent profit from what the producer gets.

Implementing a tax on it shouldn't be too difficult. There was no problem with beer.

Small producers who rely solely on their coffee crop for their livelihood are struggling to survive. I think most people would be willing to pay 5p tax on a cup of coffee if they could be assured that the grower could received the same benefit as the Treasury. - Douglas Punchard, Kirkbymoorside.

ASYLUM SEEKERS

PETE Winstanley (HAS, Sept 29) says refugees are fleeing persecution. Most of them are found to be bogus and are coached on what to say by the people-smuggling racket.

We do not have a moral duty to allow them into our country. The first duty of a Government is towards its own people, a duty which Tony Blair's Government fails consistently since it ignores all protest against multi-culture, a policy which is dividing England into factions and is flawed and dangerous.

If Mr Winstanley is correct about the numbers coming in, which he plays down drastically making them appear small, then how is it that the people of Leicester and places in London are already outnumbered by foreigners, and why have we been told we will all be outnumbered in 50 years time?

I do not want my descendants outnumbered in their homeland and neither does anyone else I know.

The sooner this treacherous Government is voted out the better it will be here. - T Atkin, Darlington.

CINEMA

I SUPPORT the initiative in collecting names to try and get a cinema back in Bishop Auckland.

I remember in the 1960s and 1970s when I was a child and teenager, we had no less than four picture houses in the town, namely the magnificent Odeon, Kings Theatre, Essoldo now the bingo hall, and last but not least, the famous or infamous Eden, locally known as the "flea pit".

I and many of my friends looked forward to the Saturday morning clubs and matinees and saw many films over the years. The town has not been the same since they closed and such a cinema would now be a real asset to the town and its people.

I hope the petition is successful and the local chamber of trade, shopkeepers and, most importantly, the local council should put pressure on the cinema chains to provide a service that has been sadly missed. - Peter C Hall, Bishop Auckland.

FOOTBALL PARKING

I THINK it's disgraceful Darlington Council has created residents' parking during football matches at the Reynolds Arena.

When you buy a house, you do not purchase the road outside your property.

The residents of Neasham Road and the surrounding area all have drives on their property. The council should have allowed parking, with the proviso that any vehicle blocking a drive would be towed away, with a £100 recovery charge.

They have given free residents' parking, and I can only assume the council tax payers of the town are paying for painting and administration of the scheme.

If this is what residents of Neasham Road want, they should have to pay for it. Usually the scheme would only apply once a fortnight, and rarely twice a week. What financial return for cost can the people of Darlington expect, especially when many of us pay taxes to use these roads and wish to go to watch the football?

They may want people to park at the stadium and I would love to, but having struggled to pay £276 for a season ticket, why should I have to pay £5 for two hours parking at the game to use my ticket?

This is my last season supporting Darlington by season ticket. In the future I shall be like many others who pick and choose to watch the odd relevant games and quality opponents in a season. - B Foster, Darlington.