TONY MARTIN: HOW bizarre can the British justice system be when it so often seems to consider the welfare of the criminal and then stamp down hard on the victim?

Tony Martin lived in a remote farmhouse and if he called the police when burglars broke in they would arrive long after he had been robbed and the thieves would have left.

A gang of criminals knew this and were confident that if he defended himself and his property they would leave him badly injured or even dead.

They were wrong and the easy robbery became a disaster as one of the crooks was shot dead. But how else could Martin have defended himself against these professional thieves, politely asking them to leave his property and pay for the damage they had already done? Real life is not like that.

When asking for a few weeks early release, Martin refused to show remorse for defending himself and his property because he was truthful. This is automatically granted to professional criminals if they pretend to show remorse for the damage they have done and most of them lie and have no remorse for the life of crime they lead.

Almost laughable was the statement that, as Martin had shown no remorse he could easily commit a similar offence if he was released earlier.

How many criminals are going to attempt to rob anyone who will react as he did? He and his property will always be safe from professional thieves. How many people who do not defend themselves or property against burglars are robbed time and time again? - E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill.

LABOUR PARTY

NOW Robin Cook and Claire Short have stood by their principles, one wonders just how many true Labour members are there in the back benches who are not afraid to stand up for true Labour.

Remember the old saying, once a Tory always a Tory. - Alf Pyle, Kelloe.

CLARE Short's belated diatribe against Tony Blair misses the point - it's not just Mr Blair who's at fault.

A single leader cannot rewrite party policy and dismiss years of political belief alone. As "dishonourable" as Mr Blair's policy on Iraq is, he cannot follow it through without the collusion of his party.

Labour is beyond recovery. It has forsaken so many principles that it has become unrecognisable.

British politics needs a sea-change, people want to know that their vote counts and that they are voting for a party with beliefs, not just for a leader. - Coun Nic Best, Green Party, Morpeth.

REGIONAL GOVERNMENT

AN elected assembly in the North-East would give the region a voice which we have lacked in the past and would be beneficial to all the people who live here.

Long and, at times, bitter experience has taught us that London-based institutions will always produce London-friendly policies when what is needed are North-East solutions to North-East problems.

There are already many government bodies and un-elected agencies which spend our money in our region but over which we have no say. This cannot be right and an elected assembly would bring these bodies under the democratic control of the people who live here.

Opinion polls have shown that a majority of the population of our unique and proud region believes that an assembly would benefit the North-East as a whole - from the Tees to the Tweed.

The Government has promised to hold a referendum on the issue of an elected assembly. The North-East must seize the opportunity as it may not come our way again. - P Litton, Wallsend.

TUITION FEES

I WOULD like to see the abolition of course fees. I am surprised to see that it is now a Conservative proposition.

The traditional Conservative view was that, unless something is paid for, a product of any kind has little value attached to it.

To some extent this is the justification for prescription charges in the NHS. These charges do not raise anything near the cost of the drugs dispensed.

There is a problem at the heart of Conservatives' policy formulation so far. They are still of the opinion that taxation should be reduced, but if course fees are not to be charged the money can only come from general taxation.

I know that arguments can be used such as improving efficiency, cost effectiveness, cutting bureaucracy. But such savings can only be marginal. If a future Conservative government is to abolish course fees and also avoid more taxation it can only do so by limiting or reducing the number of places at colleges and universities.

Do the Conservatives want fewer people to be able to reach their educational potential, or are they really in favour of further and higher education for an elite determined by new and stiffer competitive examinations? - Geoffrey Bulmer, Billingham.

EUROPE

PETER Hain has stated that a referendum about the new European Constitution was unnecessary because it was no more significant "than the other treaties we have signed over the last 30 years".

Either Mr Hain is ignorant or he is being deceitful. The constitution will give the EU jurisdiction over just about every area of government policy, from foreign affairs to home affairs, asylum to trade, transport to regional government.

We were lied to and given no choice when we joined the EEC, with the Single European Act, Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice.

The truth behind the euro is being hidden by bizarre and unrealistic statements. It is time our politicians stopped the great illusion and gave us the truth and the choice.

We must have a full, open debate about the constitution, followed by a referendum. This is too important to trust our politicians with. - Jamie Mash, Northallerton.