JOHN Major refers to his affair with Edwina Currie as "the most shameful act of my life".

Wrong. That was in October 1992, when Mr Major signed the Maastricht Treaty. This act was not only shameful, but also treacherous.

This document did immense damage to our nation, the far-reaching effects of which are already beginning to reach us.

Maastricht followed the pattern of all previous EU treaties in that it took powers from democratically-elected national governments and transferred those powers to a non-elected, non-accountable executive in Brussels, namely the European Commission.

Mr Major's wife and his family may have long ago forgiven Mr Major for his personal indiscretions. However, the people of this nation will never forgive him for his acts of constitutional butchery. - Dave Pascoe, Press Secretary, UK Independence Party, Hartlepool Branch.

FOX HUNTING

I MUST take issue with Harry Mead over his column (Echo, Oct 2).

This Government commissioned an inquiry, headed by Lord Burns, to review the whole question of fox hunting. Among its many conclusions was that, if fox numbers needed controlling in the countryside, hunting with hounds was the nearest to nature's way of control, and the least cruel.

It would appear that this was not what the Government wanted to hear, so the findings of Lord Burns's commission have been quickly shelved and conveniently forgotten.

Leave the countryside, Harry Mead, to get on with what it knows is best. - William Trotter, Staindrop.

UNITED NATIONS

SELDOM have I read a more vituperative and uninformed account of the United Nations than Peter Mullen produced in his column (Echo, Oct 1). His ignorance about the value of this international institution in which 190 countries actively work for peace is obvious.

Is it really credible that Gro Brundtland, from Norway, and Mary Robinson, from Ireland, left high political posts in their own countries in order to become 'apparatchiks, corrupt and incompetent, self-regarding bureaucrats sitting on a gravy train' in the service of the UN?

As for September 11, it has nothing to do directly with the UN and it certainly re-emphasised the need for international co-operation and understanding. - David J Whittaker, Richmond.

TOLL ROADS

IN light of Durham City's introduction of a £2 fee to exit the city centre (Echo, Oct 2), I wonder how well a similar scheme would work in Bishop Auckland.

Judging by the number of parking offenders and misuse of parking spaces, Wear Valley District Council would make a fortune.

A typical day in Bishop Auckland sees abuse of disabled parking bays and times. Delivery drivers and couriers regularly use bus stops as off-loading bays to the detriment of the travelling public. Unable to see their buses arriving, passengers often have to run into the road to flag down the drivers. Taxi drivers appear to feel that they can park anywhere on the highway, including on pavements.

The introduction of dropped kerbs was a godsend to the less mobile - parents with young children in pushchairs and those in wheelchairs. This has been negated by what appears to be an indolent policy not to prosecute those who block dropped kerbs by parking and obstructing them.

Our lone traffic warden has an unenviable and arduous task in enforcing parking regulations.

Surely someone can instigate a strong policy of enforcement and, by doing so, give the pavements and supposedly traffic-free areas back to the pedestrian for whom they were designated, before someone is hurt or worse. - David T Colling, Bishop Auckland.

FIRE SERVICE

I REALLY must take issue with the inane comments of the chairman of the Bishop Auckland Branch of the Conservative Party, Jim Tague (HAS, Oct 7).

He says firefighters should not spoil their reputation as well-respected members of the community by blindly following militant union leaders, who are simply glory-hunting troublemakers.

Do the members of the Bishop Auckland Conservative Party not elect Mr Tague as their chairman? Does Mr Tague not allow his members to call him to task by 'Point of Order'? Does he not allow resolutions agreed by his membership to which he does not agree?

The so-called 'militant union leaders' Mr Tague is trying to denigrate are elected by those 'well-respected members of the community' that Mr Tague wants to persuade to his ill-informed and distorted point of view. - John Wicks, Darlington.

LORD ARCHER

NO matter what their crime, no one deserves to have Lord Archer as the new champion of prison reform. It is inhumane. - CT Riley, Spennymoor.

MIDDLE EAST

IF the West is to deal with the problem of Saddam Hussein effectively and permanently it must do so not only with the authority of the UN, but also with the support of the majority of Arabs and Muslims.

To that end, it must demonstrate that it is not intent on global military supremacy and will never again support tyranny or sabotage democracy in order to safeguard supplies of cheap oil.

This would require an end to the development of space-based weapons and some serious moves towards ridding the world of all weapons of mass destruction, not just Iraq's.

Most importantly, the West must show that it can apply the principles of justice and human rights impartially and universally. If there is to be a tough new UN resolution on Iraq, there must also be a tough new resolution reaffirming Israel's right to a secure future, but also compelling Israel to respect the rights of Palestinians to an autonomous and viable state of their own. - Pete Winstanley, Durham.