THANKS to the EU, immigrants can come into this country and get housing, schooling and medical care without contributing anything to the country.

Foreign prisoners clogging up Britain's overcrowded jails cost the taxpayer more than £1m a day and their number is rising, making a mockery of Home Secretary John Reid's pledge to make more serve their sentences in their own country.

There are more than 12,000 foreigners behind bars costing the taxpayer £398m a year to keep, including 800-plus of unknown nationality. This comes as the prison crisis is costing an extra £5m a month to hold inmates in emergency accommodation.

With Tony Blair jumping the sinking ship, after a world tour spending taxpayers' money, we can look forward to the annihilation of Gordon Brown's Labour at the next General Election.

Our money has been wasted, not spent on fighting crime or controlling immigration or improving the NHS, but on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, MPs' goldplated pensions, the EU gravy train, etc.

I look forward to a government that will get a grip on the issues which are driving this once great country into the gutter. Ten years wasted so far. Hopefully, it will change.

Don Hughes, Westgate, Bishop Auckland, Co Durham.