25/04/06

But there was something more serious in the same issue of the Echo. If the two rapists from Middlesbrough are as evil as the judge says, then why are they to be eligible for parole in five years?

This case must surely be a classic example of where life should mean life. There have been too many situations recently where dangerous criminals have been released on licence only to reoffend within a very short space of time. - Peter Elliott, Eaglescliffe.

DONATION DECLINED

AS political party funding is topical at the moment, I was reminded of a request I received for a donation to the Labour Party from a Mr John O'Farrell this time last year.

He made the following comments in the letter: "Terrible news from the Labour Party. George Galloway has finally got round to cancelling his Direct Debit. The Labour Party badly needs money to fight this election campaign and the time has come to ask you for a donation. £1 could pay for a carefully targeted mailshot to a Mr Michael Howard, of Westminster. £100 could pay towards a Labour poster and we'll try not to put Michael Howard's face near where you live. £10,000 is frankly more than you are going to give, so I don't know why we put this here!"

Surely this is schoolboy mentality and yet they are running this country. Is it any wonder that they have to tout for millions in loans if they waste some of it like this? Needless to say, I did not send them a donation. - Joan McTigue, Independent councillor, Middlesbrough.

SEEKING HOPE

IS anyone able to estimate for me how near bankruptcy our country is? We seem to have been engaged in expensive war and international troubleshooting for many years.

Mining, steel production, clothing and British textiles, together with motor manufacturing (cars, lorries and motorcycles) all have disappeared from world volume markets.

We seem to be held to ransom by major power importers. Our nuclear reactors are almost redundant, North Sea oil is in decline and our workforce can never compete with slave labour wages in Eastern Europe, Pakistan, China etc.

We are not self-sufficient in foodstuffs. Global warming will bring no benefits: rising sea levels threaten thousands of acres of low-lying productive land.

Ignoring our own Government's propaganda, our health service, education and transport infrastructure have reached terminal decline, the pensions piggy bank has already been raided, so come on someone - is there any hope at all? - Gerard Wild, Richmond, North Yorkshire.

FALSE CODE

EMILY Prior (HAS, Apr 20) states that The Da Vinci Code "threatens the validity and the reputation of the Church". The truth of the Grail lies not with this work nor with any chalice used at the Last Supper.

If people studied the literature from both sides of the Irish Sea concerning the symbolism and mysticism of chalices and cauldrons used during the inauguration rituals of both pagan and Christian Celtic monarchs, they would quickly realise the Arthurian Grail was rooted in such a ritual performed by King Arthur to reconnect with the divine, so as to end the wasting of the land.

In fact, not only is the connection between Arthur's Grail and the one used at the Last Supper a piece of 12th century literature, but this connection is the only evidence that the chalice used at the Last Super actually left the building. The truth of The Da Vinci Code is that it is a lie whose every claim fails test after test. - C T Riley, Spennymoor, County Durham.

JONATHAN Ross

THE BBC has no business taking part in a bidding war for the services of Jonathan Ross.

The corporation's role should be to bring on fresh talent and then release it to commercial TV, preferably for large transfer fees.

Whether we are speaking of presenters, dentists or GPs, the way to reduce grotesque inequalities of income is through training to increase the supply of those skills most in demand.

I don't doubt that these occupations require very gifted people, but I suspect that such giftedness is not as rare as they might like to think. If it is, then we are breeding the wrong people. - John Riseley, Harrogate.

BUS PASSES

IN reply to A Plant (HAS, Apr 8) I am sure that all those who regularly use our bus services are fully aware of their confined use of a Darlington concessionary bus pass.

Twice weekly I travel to Stockton where I meet up with friends from both Cleveland and County Durham areas. They all travel free return journeys while I am free only to Sadberge and then charged £2.70 return from that point to Stockton. My Durham friends can venture freely as far as Tyne and Wear while Cleveland friends can enjoy a trip to Redcar.

Middlesbrough had a similar problem sorted out by their councillors and received £6.7m. Why can't Darlington do the same, or are they thinking that when compulsory free fares for all pensioners is introduced in 2008 there might be fewer senior citizens to cater for? - Mrs E Pearson, Darlington.

McCARTNEY BACKED

THANK you for the report on Sir Paul McCartney's campaign against the use of animals in medical research (Echo, Apr 15). April 24 was Laboratory-Animal Day for remembering these "forgotten" creatures.

Several charities now fund non-animal research, at universities, hospitals and other establishments, to obtain many good results for human (and animal) cures. Sadly, many bad results have come from some animal-usage research.

Animals can suffer so much, in so many ways, for us humans. Let us try to relieve some of it, wherever we can. - M Johnson, Crook.

SCHOOL DINNERS

REDCAR and Cleveland's Independent, Conservative and Liberal Democrat "coalition" council spent 38p per child per day on school dinners last year - the second lowest among all local authorities.

Has this amount been increased this financial year, or has the "coalition" followed through on its promise to cut further subsidies to school kids' dinners?

After the massive amount spent on the surfacing of unadopted roads, maybe people should ask prospective Independents how their policies affect the whole borough, in particular its vulnerable young, rather than just their own wards. - Kevin Popper, Redcar.

ROLE FOR GURKHAS

IF we want to be tough on crime let's employ teams of former Gurkhas to patrol problem areas (Swedish furniture chain Ikea is using ex-Gurkhas to patrol a store in Nottingham - Echo, Apr 18). They'll have the experience to get the results needed. - N Tate, Darlington.