JOHN WALKER (HAS, Sept, 28) totally sidestepped the issues I raised in my letter of the previous day headed “disability hate”. Even my praise for “a black temporarily disabled fellow human being” was lost on him.

Thanks for expressing sympathy, Tony Kelly (HAS Oct, 2).

I’ll clarify my “pseudoChristian” comment about the sanctimonious woman who forced me on my walking sticks onto the cobbles of Durham City.

Non-believers and practising Christians are equally appalled by malicious people who insult churches by attending services, by perjuring witnesses who swear on a bible to tell the “whole truth”, and by parents who manipulate the church to obtain better schools for their children.

Once a Catholic friend complemented me on my views by saying: “You’re an atheist – not a hypocrite.”

Debate is healthy, but I am one of many people concerned about what I call “legalised bullying” in its various guises. Any abuse of power (including against strikers and protesters) or miscarriage of justice reveals the flaws in the democracy that Mr Walker appears to advocate.

Mr Walker’s attitude is an excuse for apathy and complacency, and so is part of the problem.

Steve Lawson, Tow Law