06/02/06

Neither fraud nor "commercial" crime are recorded in the official survey. A study carried out by the Federation of Small Businesses revealed, amazingly, that nearly 60 per cent of businesses had been the victims of crime, while over a quarter did not report it.

Other data available on public record, but omitted from the survey, suggest that police may record only between one in 100 and one in 1,000 shoplifting offences.

Additionally, anecdotal reports suggest that Internet crime is a major growth area which the criminal justice system is struggling to contain, again largely ignored by the police who clearly prefer easier targets. - Peter Troy, Sedgefield.

POPPY FIELDS

HERE is an alternative to deploying 16 Air Assault Brigade to attack the poppy fields of Helmand in Afghanistan.

We could instead invite our heroin addicts to resettle there.

They would be far cheaper to house, feed and supply with drugs than here. We would be cutting into the lucrative traffic in drugs, while the producers would still get a similar price.

The local economy would also be encouraged to diversify into restaurant and boarding house services and growing food crops.

One might object that Afghanistan does not want our addicts. Yet, if they were financed from the UK, they would effectively be just another variety of tourist, to be welcomed if not respected. - John Riseley, Harrogate.

KING'S ACADEMY

RE D Lindsley's letter (HAS, Jan 31) on the subject of The King's Academy, Middlesbrough. As Principal, I feel I am in a better position than most to answer some of points raised.

D Lindsley seems to lack a basic understanding of the way that government statistics are compiled. Our so-called 'truancy rate' does not, in fact, relate to truancy but to unauthorised absence. Our unauthorised absence figures appear to be high for two main reasons: firstly, and unlike many other schools in the area, we do not permit parents to take their children on family holidays during term time and secondly, we expect a letter from parents to explain their child's absence, rather than a simple phone call - and, on occasions when such notes are not forthcoming, this can also impact negatively on our authorised absence figure.

The comments made about us "cynically engineering" our exam pass rates are insulting, unfounded and fundamentally incorrect. We do all we can to encourage our students to succeed and to achieve their very best, and actively discourage withdrawing students from public exams. Again, anyone with a basic understanding of the way government statistics are compiled will realise that our annual return to the Government is what we are measured by, rather than simply the number of students we choose to enter for any particular exam.

Our Ofsted report in December 2005 was very favourable indeed, and rated us as "a good school with many strong features".

The inspectors said it is rare for such a grading to be given to a school so young.

If I were to be cynical, I would think that the current controversy over the proposed opening of a new academy in Darlington is drawing some people to look for 'failure' in local academies, wherever they can find it. This is not a constructive approach and can, in fact, be very damaging to the students and staff in academies such as ourselves. - C Drew, Principal, The King's Academy, Middlesbrough.

DEMOLITION PLANS

WE are constantly being told by Mayor Ray Mallon, his deputy, Councillor Bob Brady and the executive member for regeneration, Councillor Dave Budd, that residents whose homes are earmarked for demolition in the Gresham and Middlehaven wards of Middlesbrough will be given full market value compensation for their property as though it was not blighted and earmarked to be bulldozed.

If, however, local estate agents are correct, the real value of properties has already dropped by 20 per cent since the homes were blighted by the spectre of demolition.

Surely this must strengthen my argument, that a funding package of about £100,000 for compulsory resettlement of thousands of worried residents in my ward is perfectly reasonable.

Jim Johnsone, director of Teesside Valley Living, has stated that 8,000 older houses are to come down in town centres throughout Teesside. I believe this is why many other properties in Gresham ward are also losing value by an average of ten per cent.

Surely it is time we were told the truth. Why must all these houses be demolished?

Is there an hidden agenda on the final number of homes to be destroyed throughout central Middlesbrough in the misappropriate name of regeneration? - Ken Walker, councillor for Gresham ward, Middlesbrough.

ELIZABETH I

WHETHER he is or not, Hugh Pender certainly comes across as a grumpy Scot.

In his rewriting of history (HAS, Jan 28), he neglected to mention that during the 13 years Mary lived in France as Queen, Scotland had become a Protestant country, was not overly keen to have her back as Queen and eventually booted her off the throne, forcing her to flee to England.

Quick off the mark, she conspired to wrest Elizabeth's throne from her and was, after 19 years of leniency, worthily beheaded at Fotheringay.

Leaping forward to Elizabeth's deathbed. She had not formally announced her successor so various Lords, badgering her with names, surrounded the unfortunate Queen. On hearing Mary's son's name "James", Queen Elizabeth, unable to speak, snapped up her clenched hand with only its middle finger firmly erected. Mistakenly, the Lords believed this to be the signal indicating James as Elizabeth's choice.

They hadn't realised that this one-fingered salute was actually a signal of derision recently adopted in England's American colonies, where it had replaced the familiar two-fingered gesture (still fondly waved in England today). Elizabeth, being a Queen on top of her game was aware of this, but her courtiers were not.

The lamentable result was James I ascending to the English throne and, within months, plots conspired to blow him off it back to his Scottish mountains.

History is what you finger-waggingly make it. - Stephen Gash, Carlisle.

RESPECT

THE latest Government initiative is 'Respect' for others. This also, presumably is meant to apply to the Government itself and local authorities.

If a local authority is to be respected it must remember that it is elected to carry out schemes or provide services which the electorate want.

In the case of High Row, Darlington, for example, the borough council did not even consider holding a public meeting as required for property in a conservation area. Nearly 5,000 people objected to the destruction of High Row. Did the council listen?

Of course not - it was what it wanted to do that counted, or should I say what "six members" wanted. The majority of the council, sat on their hands and gave silent consent.

There are, course, other issues where the council shows no respect and until it does so it will not be worthy of respect. - John W Antill, Darlington.