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TALIBAN PRISONERS

I AGREE with your editorial (Echo, Jan 18) concerning the prisoners held by the Americans at Guantanamo Bay. These people are either prisoners of war or suspected criminals. Either way, they have rights and those rights should not be denied by inventing the new category of illegal combatants.

It may well be the case that every one of these men is a dangerous extremist, intent upon mass murder, but this must be proved openly in a proper court of law, not in some secret kangaroo court set up by the US military.

It is also conceivable that some of the detainees are innocent or that mitigating circumstances may exist in some cases - eg if guillible teenagers have been duped or indoctrinated into joining the so-called jihad.

Justice must be done, but it must also be seen to be done, and this cannot happen if suspects are subjected to degrading treatment or inhumane methods of interrogation. - Pete Winstanley, Chester-le-Street.

FILTRONIC

YOUR report of the opening of the HQ of Bede plc (Echo, Jan 20) quoted the words of John Bridge: "The company has been going from strength to strength", and "Bede plc should be held up as a shining example to other companies in the North-East, if not the whole UK."

Such reporting may be good for the region and, while I have no bias against Bede, does this not contradict the report (Echo, Jan 4) headlined on the business page 'Shares in Bede plc slumped 11 per cent' which went on to say: "Bede posted a pre-tax loss of £127,000 on turnover of £4.9m. The group has yet to make a profit"?

This article plainly invited questions concerning the statements at the opening. Does the business editor not read the business reports? Plainly John Bridge doesn't, if a loss making plc can be a shining example to the rest of the country. - I Thompson, Spennymoor.

MINERS' PENSIONS

ABOUT 12,000 of the poorest former miners in the region will receive additional one-off payments of between £200 and £2,000.

It's a move in the right direction, but the campaign will carry on. The stumbling block is the guarantor agreement. It has to be reviewed. The 50-50 split does not strike a fair balance.

My own opinion is it should be 80-20 split. The pension fund was set up to help the mineworkers, not the government.

Every mineworker throughout the country should back this campaign. It is your money - this Government is creaming off the surpluses from the fund. It has to stop.

The Treasury is already scheduled to take a colossal £5bn, or around £10,000 per miner, so don't be afraid. Make your voice heard. - DT Murray, ex-miner, Durham.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

MOST times when the House of Commons appears on TV, it seems practically deserted on both sides and, if asked why, the answer is that MPs have other jobs and, if asked why, they say it is to keep in touch with the average person.

Since they have a massive salary they don't need extra money from spare time jobs, so why don't they do voluntary work in hospitals, etc and, if they want to keep in touch with the average person, that should happen when they hold their surgeries?

Is it not about time that each MP should clock in when attending the House of Commons, so the voters know just how much an hour they are paying these people? - E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill.

COUNCIL TAX

I READ with some alarm reports of a ten per cent plus increase in council tax within County Durham. The level of council tax, based on the value of your house, is not a gauge of the level of service we receive, it's simply what they believe they can get away with charging.

There is no simple, orderly relationship between the value of your home and how rich you are. Yes, rich people live in big houses, but so do many on modest incomes. Many are elderly, who continue to live in a family home after the children have moved on.

Labour is keen to promote equality. Well let everyone with able bodies and minds between the ages of 18-60 pay an equal amount into the pot. Uproar, banners everywhere, people on the streets shouting about injustice. No, it's much safer to soak the uncomplaining homeowner who is less likely to cause a stir. - Jim Tague, Bishop Auckland.

WHY is it councils are allowed to impose increases in council tax by a huge percentage when pensions, etc are governed by the rise in cost of living.

Any rise in April in pensions is going to be more than swallowed up by councils failing to control their budgets. - AR Tatman, Darlington.

WAR ON TERRORISM

YOUR correspondent (HAS, Jan 17) Hugh Pender blames the Americans for the ills of the world, yet ignores theocratic despotic Muslim states that have every intention of destroying the West, and who terrorise their own people in a way that we in the West find insulting and downright evil.

He makes sweeping statements regarding millions of people in the Middle and Far East, yet ignores the fear and terror imposed on them by their own leaders.

Then, he has the arrogance to suggest his own importance, suggesting his contributions to the debate on terrorism will help solve the problem.

The problem with terrorism is the terrorists' belief that, as long as they have condescending people who believe in what they do, then they believe their cause is just. Even to murder their own people who dare to suggest their insanity.

The problems in the Middle East and other parts of the world will only be solved when they face their own behaviour and start by getting rid of the despots who make their lives a misery and destroy any kind of trust we in the West have for them. - John Young, Crook.