WAR AGAINST IRAQ: ANYONE who read John Pilger's exposZ of the Bush/Blair relationship can be left in no doubt that Mr Blair misled Parliament and the British people.

His clinical demolition of the justification for the war was a classic piece of journalism.

It is high time the people of this country realised what Mr Blair is doing with his slavish attitude to President Bush.

If the Tories can get rid of Mrs Thatcher surely the Labour Party can be shot of Mr Blair and get back some of their self esteem. - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

LOCAL ELECTIONS

THANK you for the Comment column (Echo, Apr 24) highlighting the danger to our area from BNP candidates in the local elections.

I used to think it was best to ignore people and rely on the decency and common sense of the people of the North-East to see through their lies to the real far right agenda they are hiding behind their new suits and pretence to respectability.

Not now. It appears that people are more easily fooled than I thought.

Too many of my father's generation died keeping these people out of Britain for us to remain silent or apathetic while they creep back through the ballot box.

Well done The Northern Echo. Now let's see the rest of the region's media take a stand against the growth of fascism in the North-East. - Eileen Johnson, Stockton.

IN the run-up to the local elections there have been some discordant statements produced by the Lib-Dems at Spennymoor.

In his letter (HAS, Apr 4) Ben Ord said he was doing his utmost to bring jobs to the town although he discouraged multi-national companies from locating here. He preferred a mixture of large, medium and small firms even though multi-national companies only require medium-sized factories.

When the Prime Minister takes the country into the euro in the not too distant future and Nissan could probably decide to build another factory in the North East, Ben Ord will refuse the option of it being located at Spennymoor.

The Lib-Dems also complained about young people having to leave the area to find work yet in a letter (HAS, Apr 5) they advocated redundancies among the borough council workforce in order to cut costs. Is this their future policy if elected? - Thomas Conlon, Spennymoor.

COUNTY BOUNDARIES

THE Campaign for True Identity was formed in 1997 after the Local Government Review of 1996 failed to address the Yorkshire/Lancashire boundary issue, resulting in many thousands still remaining exiled from their native county.

They had been shifted under the 1974 local government reorganisation into administration by a different county council.

Now we are facing another local government reorganisation under Devolution to Regions. We want to make sure our traditional counties do not suffer another carve-up, even to their possible extinction from the map of England.

We believe we should extend our campaign to the whole of northern England to give us more clout. There must be many people in County Durham who feel, like us, that the traditional counties are worth preserving as part of our country's geography and heritage.

It is important that any regions should be made up of whole traditional counties, not a conglomerate of bits and pieces concocted by London bureaucrats without any regard for county loyalties. - Geoff Hoyle, CTI Co-ordinator, Skipton.

ART GALLERY

I HAVE in front of me a leaflet which asks me to suggest a name for the re-sited Art Gallery in Darlington.

Why not call it the Darlington Art Gallery, or are we ashamed to admit that this is the town's gallery?

The gallery has been in its new location for some nine months. The highly paid officers and officials of the council are incapable apparently of thinking of a name. For all these months the gallery has been in its new location with no designation as to its use or directions to its whereabouts.

It is virtually inaccessible for the disabled, the nearest parking space requires the ascent of 14 steps or parking at the rear of the municipal offices and requires a carer pushing a wheelchair.

Darlington Council, it seems, is completely bereft of ideas and a knowledge of what are the requirements of an Art Gallery to attract viewers. - RT Miller, Darlington.

EUROPE

OVER three years ago I forecast that France and Germany would be in dire trouble re unemployment and illegal immigrants and that Tony Blair's sole ambition was to be the head lad in Europe and get rid of the pound.

He has been the poodle of France and Germany, who have unloaded all their surplus asylum seekers and immigrants to our country.

This so-called New Labour just does not have a clue how to operate things to be successful; like the NHS, education, post offices, etc.

The only man who is doing his best to control things is Chancellor Gordon Brown, who sees the danger of the euro.

This is the most anti-English, anti-Union Jack Prime Minister ever. - F Wealand, Darlington.

HERE we go again. Staff at No 10 reject the idea that Tony Blair is interested in the position of full-time President of Europe.

Then we have our Prime Minister saying the EU needs a figurehead: "someone the White House can call."

Now he agrees with George Bush that the job must be created because the US President wants it that way.

His latest remarks seem to coincide with the award of the Ellis Island Medal of Honour, the first non-American to receive it. I wonder if he will wear it on Remembrance Day?

Can't we send Mr Blair to America as our ambassador to Washington? - Tommy McCormack, Newton Aycliffe.