05/07/03

I twice had occasion to write to Joe Haines and received a nice reply each time.

I thought Mr Campbell gave a good account of himself when he appeared before the Commons Select Committee.

He is adamant in his view that he did not doctor an intelligence report he saw prior to the war with Iraq.

If he has been wronged by the BBC, it is only natural that he should seek an apology. - LD Wilson, Guisborough.

COUNCILLORS' ALLOWANCES

I CAN see nothing wrong with the increases in councillors' allowances, if the proper procedures have been fulfilled.

The Government has laid down that councils must have an independent remuneration panel and have due recognition of decisions the panel makes.

What is extremely important is that the panel must be completely independent of the council. No friends or relatives of councillors may preside on the panel.

Stakeholders should be requested by the council to put names forward and adverts may also be placed in the media. The selection of the panel will then be made by the council with due regard to government guidelines and must be transparent. Some if not all the panel should be known to the public.

With regards to Durham County Council leader Ken Manton's antagonising statement: "We're talking about a relatively small amount of money." His personal increase of £80 a week is ten times the increase a pensioner received this year. He should be advised to justify his increase rather than defend it. - D Lane, Coulby Newham.

SEA SUNDAY

SEAFARERS endure danger, isolation and separation from their families to bring us the food and other goods that we use every day. However, because they are out of sight, seafarers can be forgotten.

I am writing to ask readers to remember the 1.2 million seafarers who help move 90 per cent of the world's trade. We depend on these seafarers for the necessities of life. Please keep them in your thoughts, particularly on Sea Sunday, July 13, when special services will be held in the UK and overseas to remember and pray for seafarers, their families and those who care for them.

Sea Sunday is organised by The Mission to Seafarers (Anglican) and its kindred societies, the Apostleship of the Sea (Roman Catholic) and the British and International Sailors' Society (interdenominational). - The Rev Canon Bill Christianson, Secretary, The Mission to Seafarers.

SCHOOL FIRE

I AM writing in the hope of communicating my opinion concerning the sentence passed in relation to the "arson" attack on Middleton-St-George primary school earlier this year (Echo, June 24).

I feel that the sentence was unjust and somewhat excessive. I recognise that this is also the opinion of many members of my close-knit school community.

The two years' detention the pair will serve in a secure unit, will neither benefit the boys nor replace the destroyed school buildings. The damage to the school was immeasurable but not nearly as colossal as the damage will be to the lives of these two individuals as a result of their punishment.

The passing of this sentence has meant that the boys will spend the next two years of their teenage lives away from their families and friends.

This cruel chastisement does not reflect the fact that the devastation caused by the fire was not anticipated by either of the youths involved.

The events that took place on February 26 were indeed due to irresponsible actions of the boys. However, having realised their mistake, I feel that they should have been given the chance to show their regret by undertaking several hours of community service, perhaps on the restoration of the two classrooms still in use.

Many people make deplorable mistakes, especially teenagers, but the majority are given the opportunity to make amends. Sadly, in this instance, the youths have not been granted permission to compensate for their mistakes, and our community is no better off.

I hope that you can begin to understand my indignation towards the situation as I also speak for other members of my shocked school community.

I expect no response as a result of this correspondence as many people do not value the opinion of young people such as myself. - Gemma Phillips, Sadberge.

ASYLUM SEEKERS

AS factories close, sending more jobs away to Eastern European countries, one of the best ideas in ages is voiced by Shadow Home Secretary, Oliver Letwin (Echo, June 18).

Send asylum seekers to Albania to be held securely until their claims can be examined. If it is cheaper to have goods made in Eastern Europe rather than in Britian, then it will be cheaper to accommodate asylum seekers there too.

Since many of the vice rings of London and other cities are now thought to be run by Albanians, it would surely be poetic justice for such "refugees" to be returned to their own country and hopefully, when refused entry into Britain, turned out of the holding centres.

Whether or not the suggestion of holding asylum seekers outside the UK is ever given a chance to be tried, at least it is something new to think about. - EA Moralee, Billingham.