I THINK most people would agree with the comment (Echo, Nov 5) that Paul Burrell received a great deal of public support for the way he conducted himself throughout his trial and his reluctance to divulge anything that might be damaging to the Royal Family.

After his acquittal I thought he would have chosen to keep silent. But barely had he finished celebrating, he was ready to tell the truth, the whole truth, no doubt with a six-figure cheque already in his pocket.

Had he remained silent he would have kept the high ground and preserved the old saying: "He who tells all has nothing left to tell". - D Punchard, Kirkbymoorside.

EUROPE

THE scare-mongering claim that there will be massive job losses if, or rather when, Britain withdraws its membership of the EU has been dismissed and discredited by so many business leaders and economists that to pursue this propaganda path only emphasises the weakness of the europhile case.

As these will be the only jobs lost, I'm sure readers will agree that this will be an acceptable level of 'collateral damage' in the process of returning real power back to the electorate. - D Pascoe, Press Secretary, Hartlepool Branch, UK Independence Party.

I THINK Robin Ashby (HAS, Nov 11) is getting things wrong. I will vote for trading with Europe but I will never vote for losing our independence. Just look what Tony Blair is trying to do with Gibraltar. Doesn't that tell all sensible people what he and his puppet government will do to our once fine country? - F Wealands, Darlington.

IT never ceases to amaze me how a virulent handful of pro-Europeans like Robin Ashby (HAS, Nov 11) want to play fast and loose with people's jobs in the North-East by using false premises to promote their point of view.

The events of the last few weeks, when thousands of local jobs, for example Black & Decker, electronics manufacturing and even call centres, have been lost to new EU member countries in Europe, are just a few examples of the damage done to this area by our membership of the EU.

Mr Ashby says that thousands of jobs depend on our membership of the EU, which is of course absolute nonsense, as we trade with European countries through the European Common Market.

It is notable that the richest countries in the area are not members of the EU and I would suggest that now is the time to rejoin them before we are bled to death. - RW Alexander, Darlington.

STREET CRIME

THE Prime Minister's commitment to get to grips with anti-social behaviour and the accompanying changes in the licensing laws is an essential part of the battle against rising street crime in the UK.

The aggressive, drunken, foul-mouthed outbursts and vandalism highlighted by the Government are not mere lapses of conduct, they contribute to an ingrained disregard for the law.

Senior police officers and most politicians concede that our streets still don't feel safer to the average citizen. That, rather than statistical falls in street crime, is the real measure of success or failure.

Mr Blair's proposed on-the-spot penalties for yobbish behaviour help free up valuable time for frontline police officers. Justice reforms promise a more even balance in the courtroom to benefit victims of crime. However, it is not enough for the rest of us to simply bolt the doors and leave it to the police and politicians.

Every link in the chain matters if street crime is to be reduced. Councils must bear down on anti-social behaviour, our schools must play their part in protecting pupils from robbers and bullies, pubs and clubs can do more to prevent drink-fuelled violence and hospitals can assist the police by gathering information from victims of violence.

Witnesses should be better supported through our legal process. Tackling crime is about more than catching criminals, it is about creating expectations throughout our community of decent standards of behaviour and being prepared to play a part in enforcing them.

We must all accept that we are in this together. - Councillor K Walker, Chariman Cleveland Police Authority.

CHRISTMAS POST

MARGARET Bond (HAS, Nov 11) has either been misinformed or has misunderstood the position regarding the stamping of parcels and non-standard postal items.

I believe the position is that whenever a customer demands the use of conventional stamps, then that is his or her prerogative.

The recently introduced facility for printing specially-priced stamps within the post office is a time-saving and innovative procedure, but the use thereof is not intended to deprive the customer of the right to choose and indeed the use of the stamp-printing facility does have certain limitations.

This is a matter which could and indeed should be made clear to all Post Office customers by an appropriate Consignia official. - A Benn, Bedale.

DEMOCRACY

WE should scrap the Barnett Formula, as the Lib Dems intend (Echo, Nov 9) so that our taxations are fairly distributed. And we should scrap the Business Rate Fund, which takes about £2m out of Richmondshire, and scrap the freeze on 75 per cent of council house sales revenues, so that local authorities can provide housing, as they used to do.

And we should abolish the 100 or more quango-agencies, and put their operations back into local councillors' hands, responsible direct to the people, the electorate and the ballot box.

Voters may then begin to take a serious interest in elections. These are the foundations of a democratic society. We do not actually need the expense and remoteness of regional government. - Councillor Tony Pelton, Catterick.