TRIDENT: THE Reverend John Stephenson decries the recommissioning of Trident (HAS, Dec 11). Why shouldn't Trident be recommissioned?

We live in a very uncertain world and one of the few effective guarantees of stability we have is the nuclear deterrent. It has stood us in good stead before, as should now be blatantly obvious.

Had we, 40 years ago, succumbed to the various so-called peace groups (ie, Communist stooges) and disarmed unilaterally, the world would be an even darker place than it is because there would have been nothing to stop a Soviet invasion of Western Europe.

We didn't listen to the unilateralists then and we shouldn't listen to them now.

The nuclear option is in our interests and we should stick with it. The alternative is to bury our heads in the sand and hope the various rogue states, al Qaida, etc, will go away. - Tony Kelly, Crook, Co Durham.

THE Reverend John Stephenson (HAS, Dec 11) states that money for the new nuclear Trident would be better spent on charities to feed the hungry and homeless.

I think that the vast majority would agree but, sadly, a tiny minority prevent the Western world from doing this.

North Korea defies the rest of the world in its insistence on testing nuclear weaponry and Iran, which openly supplies Hezbollah with arms and money, is now in the process of developing a nuclear programme. Are we to sit still and watch?

Of course, we would all love to give more to people worse off than us and both the Government and the British people give generously to charity.

Perhaps the Church, with its millions, could also be a little more charitable in this season of goodwill? - Kev McStravick, Darlington.

CAPITALISM

RE your correspondent's obvious pique with capitalism (HAS, Dec 11). While capitalism has faults, that has more to do with the failure, or more to the point, greed of the politicians who ignore the fact that their responsibility is to give those who are not as well off a fair slice of the cake.

The correspondent talks of World Socialism, a system that condemns the majority of people to poverty, tyranny and fear, without the chance of improving their lot.

Communism was supposed to make the world a better place, in the USSR and China in particular, yet millions of people were put to death or starved to death in the name of a grand idea called socialism.

In our society it is not capitalism that is at fault. Someone has to create the wealth to build our hospitals, schools and defend us, and as long as we have a democratic process to control that wealth, then capitalism works.

It fails because the democratic process becomes corrupt, but at least we have the means to change it. - John Young, Crook, Co Durham.

SLIPPING DOWNHILL

IN the 1940s, we did not have TVs, washing machines, cars, fridge-freezers, mobile phones, computers, stress counsellors, security guards. I could go on.

Neither did we have muggings, joyriding, road rage incidents, happy-slapping, druggies, hoodies, football hooligans, and Islamic clerics spewing out hatred. Litter, graffiti and vandalism was unheard of.

Although the early 1940s symbolised a time of danger, hardship and depression, it was safer on the streets and in the home.

What has gone wrong today? Responding to a mugging or burglary can result in the victim being incarcerated and the offender being cautioned.

We have become an impoverished society which needs to restore the Christian values on which this once great nation functioned.

How can Tony Blair say he knows what he is doing? He has brought us into conflict with Iraq and Afghanistan with a terrible loss of lives. He is George Bush's poodle and has a deputy prime minister not fit to hold the title.

Mr Blair will be remembered as a weak and ineffective Prime Minister.

I despair and believe that there is no one in authority with the will, imagination or competence to get this once great country back on its feet. - Donald Hughes, Westgate, Bishop Auckland, Co Durham.

CHRISTMAS

THOSE who value the freedom we have enjoyed in this country need to be vigilant and pro-active, especially over Christmas.

The society and media manipulators are quite obvious in their aim to stamp out Christianity, the source of true freedom and peace in society.

Individuals should be careful in their choices; for example, avoiding buying cards that have no reference to Christianity.

We have seen how the liberal agenda has had a negative effect on morals and family breakdown, crime, etc, in the past ten years.

If we continue to be silent, as they go further down the road with their religion of secularism, the result in another ten years does not bear thinking about.

The aim of the social engineers is complete control of every aspect of our lives. - W Mawston, Rushyford, Co Durham.

NELSON MANDELA

MAY I thank David Lacey for his kind remarks (HAS, Dec 6) regarding my contribution about Nelson Mandela (HAS, Nov 30).

I wholeheartedly agree with him drawing to our attention the equally remarkable Mahatma Gandhi, who was instrumental in securing independence for India.

I cannot see anybody on the world stage now anywhere near matching the humanity of Mandela and Gandhi.

I would like to mention Aung San Suu Kyi, who has so long suffered the oppression of the Burmese military junta. Hopefully, she may yet see her country returned to democracy. - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

PS. I watched Lady Thatcher praising the mass killer Pinochet. This is the woman who called Nelson Mandela a terrorist.

LAKE OUTRAGE

YOU recently published a series of six photos, taken from an internet video, of an elderly man being pushed into a lake by a tracksuited youth in South Shields (Echo, Dec 8).

The "star" of this was a grinning maggot who obviously gets his kicks out of attacking old people from behind and then - typically- scurries away like a frightened rabbit.

I don't know whether this piece of scum was ever caught. I hope he was, but what he should bear in mind is that the day might come when one of his family could receive similar treatment, even ending with fatal results. - D Harrison, Darlington.

TAXATION

WELL, Scrooge was out early this Christmas. Chancellor Gordon Brown blames global warming for his tax on the people of this country.

It would not be so bad if the rest of the world followed suit to stop global warming, but they just don't care.

They must be laughing at the British people for being the fall guys of Brown's taxes and Fagin in Downing Street must be rubbing his hands with glee at the revenue he's raking in. - James Vickers, Witton Gilbert.