08/05/03

English fans have caused mayhem for years and a severe lesson should have been taught to them.

Of course it is the minority who spoil it for the rest, but what other solution is there? As in other walks of life, double standards is the name of the game - after all, the football people are only copying what politicians have been doing for years - the war in Iraq and the attitude to Israel being the latest examples. - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

AIR AMBULANCE

AFTER reading your article (Echo May 1) regarding the complaint made by a Darlington resident concerning the use of Abbey Road playing field by the Air Ambulance Service, I felt compelled to write. How mind-numbingly selfish and inconsiderate this unnamed resident must be.

The Air Ambulance Service is a boon to our area. Who knows how many lives will have been saved or medical conditions reduced by the swift action of the helicopter and the ability to transfer patients from the landing zone to the Memorial Hospital as quickly as possible? A local landing place is paramount.

I am sure more people are 'disrupted' by the din from folk's cars as they drive past with the CD blaring and the windows down than from the landing of a chopper, which could be involved in a life or death situation. - Andrew Hall, Crook.

FIREARMS AMNESTY

WHILE our Government has been promoting the firearms amnesty in the UK, it has also been considering legislation that could allow British gunrunners to flood the streets of other countries with these destructive weapons.

On the same day the UK firearms amnesty came to a close, so did the consultation on new export control laws. As the draft legislation currently stands, British gunrunners would still be able to ship small arms to embargoed countries and countries in conflict simply by jumping on a plane and conducting their activities from a hotel room in Paris.

Oxfam has seen the destructive results of small arms to the lives of people around the world. Small arms exacerbate conflict, destroying people's livelihoods and creating a major obstacle to tackling poverty. 500,000 people are killed each year by small arms.

While Oxfam welcomes the moves made to remove guns from circulation in the UK, we also call on our Government to end its double standards, control British gunrunners wherever they are located, and help remove these dangerous weapons from the streets around the world. - Jonathan Dorsett, Campaigns Officer, Oxfam North-East.

REGIONAL GOVERNMENT

I WOULD like to ask your paper for help in letting people in North Yorkshire know they have an extra chance to 'vote' on the first stage of a possible regional government before May 16.

The Government wants to know if there are strong feelings about having a directly elected government for the region, a kind of 'Yorkshire and Humber parliament'.

They want to know whether there is sufficient interest to make it worthwhile holding a referendum on this subject.

The original March deadline has been extended - this follows changes in the legislation which would give voters in two-tier local authority areas a say about the form of local government they want should a directly elected regional "parliament'' be established.

The Assembly, which supports a referendum, hopes this will encourage more people to put forward their views.

This is a very important debate which affects us all - I hope people will take this extra opportunity to have their say.

Please send your responses to: Regional Policy Unit (regions soundings exercise), Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Zone 1/A6, Eland House, Bressenden Place, London SW1E 5DU. E-mail Referenduminterestodpm.gov.uk. - Peter Box, Chair, Yorkshire and Humber Assembly.

EUROPE

WE are in danger of losing the vision of the founders of the European Union that is as valid today as it was over 50 years ago.

They saw that it was nationalistic institutions that were the cause of devastating wars and endeavoured to build co-operative inter-governmental institutions in order to bring about peace and prosperity.

It was stated that the time-scale did not matter as long as the goals were achieved.

It is easy to become diverted through loyalty to an institution that has largely served its purpose, when the need is to establish machinery to deal with new common problems that all countries are facing.

The cry that co-operative structures which deal with common problems take away independence from the UK misses the point that independent action almost always results in a level of conflict that reduces the well being of the population.

So far we have enjoyed most of the benefits of being in the EU but seem reluctant to take the next beneficial step the adoption of the euro.

Failure to do so would mean that we would not share fully in the overall benefits that adoption is bringing to euro members and leaves us out of an important decision-making area.

Those who take polarised views for or against adoption are mistaken. There are one off costs associated with joining and there are changes that the Government would have to make but even in the worst case scenario the benefits outweigh the costs.

The original organisations and the EU have achieved success after success through rigorous debate and courageous decision making and that includes the success of the euro for those who have already joined.

The EU is expanding and the beneficial influences for peace are felt in many other areas of the world although they go unsung. The UK needs to play the fullest part in all the work of the EU and can only do so by adopting the euro and being at the centre of the decision making. - Bill Morehead, Darlington.