21/06/03

A frightened, sad old man, Tony Martin, is robbed by two persistent offenders then jailed when he reacts in, many would say, an understandable way.

To further insult him and his supporters, the miscreant now wins the right to sue for £15,000.

Then a shameless sex offender on appeal has an already pathetically inadequate sentence reduced further when judges in their infinite wisdom decide it was not too bad after all. Not too bad for who? The victims? The family or the criminal who perpetrated the disgusting, disgraceful crimes?

The cases were brought by 100 per cent professional, caring police officers, many being parents, deeply touched by the sickening cases they deal with. I for one admire their restraint.

It is high time the judicial system in our country was brought up to date, kicking and screaming if need be.

It is becoming a joke but I for one am finding nothing in any of these cases remotely funny.- R Bridgett, Shildon.

TIME will tell if the three-year sentence handed down to Nadine Milroy-Sloan has any deterrent effects on those tempted to make false allegations.

What is more certain is that, whilst it is deplorable that any innocent person should be lied about, the Hamiltons have emerged from the ordeal with their celebrity status intact.

For every Neil and Christine Hamilton, who are, quite rightly in this case, exonerated, there are dozens of anonymous, yet equally innocent people who end up behind bars.

A leading criminologist estimates there are currently up to 4,000 wrongly convicted people serving prison sentences as a direct result of false accusations.

False allegations motivated by greed, revenge or downright malice are increasingly common, yet even when detected, tend to go unpunished.

The laws relating to injury, perverting the course of justice and wasting police time need to be more widely applied. - B Marsh, Bishop Auckland.

REGIONAL GOVERNMENT

SO, the Government will not give us the vote on the EU constitution, something which involves a massive transfer of even more power to the EU, and makes domestic politics pointless, seeing as the treaty gives the EU control over virtually every area of government, and confirms that EU law takes precedence over that of 'member states'.

This despite nearly 90 per cent of the electorate wanting a vote on this.

However, they're going to give those of us in the north of England the chance to vote on regional government, something which few people want.

But what the media fail to tell us is that regional government of the UK is purely to fall in line with the EU's "Europe of Regions", drawn up long before John Prescott started on the idea. In this Europe of regions, England does not even appear on the map. - Jamie Marsh, UK Independence Party, Northallerton.

I DO think the North-East needs a stronger voice both nationally and in Europe. However, I definitely do not support spending a lot of council-tax money on new buildings.

If Durham County Council was abolished as part of the change, the County Hall would immediately become available as a home for the North-East Assembly.

There would be no need to lose the playing fields Ken Manton proposes to devote to a grand new building.

We also have an even better potential Assembly Chamber that already exists and is now being totally wasted - the Durham Miners' Hall.

Though this would not provide accommodation for administrative support, it is only a very short distance from the City Council offices at Byland Lodge, which would become available if the District Council rather than the County Council were to be abolished. - J Hawgood, Durham.

RAIL TRAVEL

BY quirk of circumstance, I recently found myself with an hour-and-a-half's wait at Darlington Station for my rail connection home to Taunton.

The prospect was not pleasant, but I couldn't have been proved more wrong.

The buffet and its staff were welcoming, the toilets pristine and the waiting room somewhere really comfortable to wait. A member of staff went to considerable trouble to find out for me the platform position of the quiet coach on the Virgin train to Paignton on which I was travelling and to see that I and my luggage were safely installed.

I am indebted to all the staff at Darlington who perform to such a high standard, and to the care that is lavished on the station building.

Having just arrived from Middlesbrough by train, the contrast was all the more remarkable.Need one say more? - Mrs R Burnett, Minehead, Somerset.

HONOURS SYSTEM

IT makes me squirm when I read about policemen getting gongs for doing police work. That's what they're paid to do. And NHS Trust directors are honoured for services to the NHS.

There's millions of people who do an honest job - they get paid - but never get a gong.

I believe gongs should be restricted to people who do good works in their own time - and don't get paid for it. - J Dickson, Darlington.