IN reply to John Young (HAS, May 21) to question, raise concerns over or condemn the actions of any past or present Government doesn't make someone anti-English or anti-British, it just means they refuse to be a sheep.

However, a political party whose policies force the dying to work; makes people homeless or drives some to suicide; turns the weakest members of society into scapegoats; closes care and refuge homes; reduces workers rights; forces working people to rely on food banks, causing work to become no longer an opportunity for economic advancement, but rather an act of self-preservation – has already taken away people's freedoms and human rights.

Such is the concern over plans to scrap European Human Rights Laws that Andrew Mitchell, Dominic Grieve and Damian Green have all warned against it and a senior Government figure recently has threaten to quit in order to vote against it. 

The concerns I raised are those shared by members of the Conservative Party, among many others.  With respect, Mr Young should check his facts before accusing anyone of arrogance, telling lies or raising such concerns as being unpatriotic.

CT Riley, Spennymoor