Letters

BEFORE your readers get too fired up over alleged new evidence linking overhead power lines with cancer (Echo, June 24), would they please spare a thought for the residents of Eaglescliffe and nearby?

When the controversial new power line is eventually built, it will allow the removal of an existing line which passes close to, and in several cases directly over, the homes of residents of my ward.

If the new evidence is believed, the NFU should welcome new lines in rural areas, in order to remove them from well-populated suburban areas.

Generally, I would support the precautionary principle that new lines should not be erected near houses, nor new houses be built near existing lines (as is also happening in Eaglescliffe).

In the present case, though, I believe one has to take into account the number of residents at risk, even though that risk is believed to be vanishingly small. - Coun Jeremy Atkinson, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council.

RUSSIAN SPY

D PUNCHARD (HAS, June 24) considers that the decision not to prosecute Melita Norwood is correct and that she could hardly be described as a master spy.

She was awarded the order of the Red Banner in recognition of her work for Russia. This honour was not given lightly by the Evil Empire and demonstrated the value they placed on her work which damaged the safety and security of her country.

I think that all traitors should be prosecuted unless they atone for their crime by working for us. This treacherous woman has said that she has no regrets and would do the same again. I doubt if Stalin would have been so lenient. - Raymond Kelly, Chester-le-Street.

BEDE STATUE

THE Venerable Bede is claimed to be the North-East's most important religious figure and there is a campaign to have a statue of him erected on a plinth in Trafalgar Square. Why?

Put a statue of the Venerable Bede on display in the North-East at his favourite place and drag the tourists kicking and screaming up here to spend their holiday money.

Don't give the South yet another thing to add to their tourist trap. - MG Harris, Darlington.

NEWSPAPER AWARDS

CONGRATULATIONS to The Northern Echo on being named Daily Newspaper of the Year in the Newsquest awards.

Also, well done to Barry Nelson on gaining the Reporter of the Year award.

The awards go nicely with the previously won North East Newspaper of the Year title.

I have been a reader of your newspaper for many years and remember as a boy visiting my grandmother and spending half the time reading The Northern Echo which she always took.

Keep up the good work. - LD Wilson, Guisborough.

GREAT NORTH RUN

ARE you running the Great North Run? Are you running for a charity? If not, why not turn miles into smiles and obtain sponsorship for the NSPCC and help children in your area.

The NSPCC is a leading children's charity providing a range of vital services in the Northern region, not only in providing support for children who have been abused, but also in prevention work. At the moment we are running our major Full Stop appeal so please help us to meet our aim of ending cruelty to children - Full Stop. For sponsor forms and any other information, please contact me on (0191) 5164600 or fax (0191) 5164640. - Keith Dowell, NSPCC Appeals, Sunderland.

SINGLE CURRENCY

I SHARE the belief of many local business leaders that the euro is in the best interests of the British and indeed the North-East economy.

The facts are compelling. Our industries rely on trade with our neighbours. Indeed, 60 per cent of UK exports go to the EU mainland. Joining the euro would give our region's companies a level playing field with those of the eurozone. All research shows that joining the euro would safeguard jobs in our region.

The internet, e-commerce and globalisation are developing at an incredible pace, and the old fragmentation of European currencies is no longer viable.

Yes, the British economy is doing well in this climate but so are the rapidly growing economies of France, Germany and the Netherlands.

I believe that all voices should be heard so that when the time comes for a referendum, the people of the North-East will be able to make a well-informed decision. - Dr Barbara O'Toole, Labour MEP for the North East of England and Socialist Group, Co-ordinator on the European Parliaments Culture Committee.

PETER MULLEN

MAY I give three cheers for Peter Mullen's excellent article, An uncommonly hard act to follow.

It is now over 20 years since my days of theological training for the priesthood, when I voiced my doubts over the Alternative Service Book (ASB).

As Peter states: "There is plenty of mushy New Age language". What those of us who still attend church need are spiritual uplift and renewal and we won't receive them from common worship, just as we didn't from the ASB. - Eric Younghusband, Shildon.