Western Daily Press. . . Features/Letters

How on Earth Antony Gibson of the NFU can describe as “common sense” yet another attempt to engineer a mass badger cull in reaction to bovine TB is just beyond me.

Apart from the fact that this approach has been widely scientifically discredited, Mr Gibson is also meant to be representing those livestock farmers who, the NFU tells us, need public support in order to survive.

Yet this same organisation hungrily promotes a move which will be seen by most people as nothing more than selfish persecution of our wildlife and is guaranteed to blacken the image of livestock farmers still further.

I’m keen to know what percentage of the farmers in this country are actually members of the NFU.

And has the membership been polled for their views on a mass badger cull before the reps presume to speak to the Press on their behalf?

Whatever the answers, either they all get to grips with the importance of good public relations, or the home market for livestock farmers will simply self-destruct.

Gill Purser, Cheltenham

Editor, . Gill Purser purports to be a farmer’s wife, but in reality her activities and her mindset are those of a sixth-former or university fresher. . . She blithely uses expressions like ‘widely scientifically discredited’ when the truth is it is her and her band of activists that are now totally discredited. . Sir David King’s intervention, the Government’s Chief Scientist, has come as blow to their now very tired arguments. . They are now all reduced to veiled threats of damage to the farmers’ market place if the cull goes ahead. . The reality is; country people have always been very loath to involve themselves in controversy and discord. The animal rights activists took them all by complete surprise, and it is only now they are beginning to come to terms with the damage that has been inflicted. . However; as the city rubbish mountains become overrun with rats, seagulls and pigeons; increasingly farmers are getting support from the silent majority who themselves know that drastic measures; however distasteful; sometimes have to be taken to protect civilisation.

Charles Henry

Gill Purser is entirely correct and, as usual on this issue, Charles Henry is entirely wrong. The consensus of scientific opinion is indeed that a badger cull is NOT the solution to the problem of bTB in cattle, a viewpoint endorsed by the Royal Society, the premier scientific body in the UK, and all science-based wildlife bodies, such as the Mammal Society. Sir David King is the maverick voice on bTB and badgers, which is an issue on which he has no previous experience and very little knowledge. And, like Mr. Henry, he is wrong.

Terry, Somerset

Editor, . The Kreb’s trials didn’t employ any ’science’ for wider scientific opinion to form any consensus about. . They simply pandered to a minority of trouble makers, and showed that if you disperse infected badgers to other earths or setts they will simply infect other badgers, wildlife and cattle in that area. . . Sir David King is rightly concerned for the health of the nation; not just badgers as should the government be.

Also Editor, . Will someone tell me please? . . Is this the same ‘TERRY’ who wants the human population ‘culled’ on our overcrowded island? . . . . . Research shows; because of the botched Krebs trials where infected badgers were just dispersed into the surrounding countryside, the Royal Society warns of ‘lack of scientific evidence on badger culling’. . In its response to the Government consultation on controlling the spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB), the Society recognises that, despite the best efforts of the scientific community and Defra, the scientific evidence base relating to the spread of bTB is limited; an issue which needs to be acknowledged in deciding how to respond to this crisis.(They do admit there is a crisis!) . . . . . Professor David Read, Vice President of the Royal Society, said: “The case for badger culling is not clear cut. The introduction of culling could result in an increase or a decrease of bTB. Which of these will predominate is likely to depend upon the details of the culling regime adopted.” . This just code for, “If they botch this cull also; it will just spread the disease further!". . What can’t be disputed is the fact that until they ‘protected the badger’, bTB was under control.

Charles Henry

Western Daily Press. . .Features/letters

In reply to Oliver Edwards, “Ignorance of country ways” (Your Say, October 19).

I would like to ask him through your letters page a few questions.

Was it really necessary for him and his forefathers to spray DDT and poisonous chemicals on the land, some with no known antidotes?

Is it really necessary to breed en masse and release pheasants and partridges into the countryside, to use as live targets for pleasure?

Why kill natural predators that keep so-called problem species under control in the natural balance of the countryside?

Is it right to turn every accessible area into mono-cultured prairies?

Why mass-produce mammals and passerines in factory-farmed conditions?

Was it really right to feed herbivores on ground-up dead animal bodies?

If Oliver Edwards would like to answer these few questions for me, I have several more to follow that will help me in my “ignorance of country ways” and the mass breeding and killing that goes on in our countryside.

M J Haines, Cirencester

M.J.Haines; a countryman and Estate manager?. . Somehow his bitter thought processes just don’t ’stack up’ Editor. . . What a stupid question about DDT; Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane. . County Council departments were using this chemical in the community countrywide right up until around 1972 when the USA banned it! . . WHY PICK ON FARMERS? . Most of his other questions are based on his twisted interpretation of an industry that’s function always was primarily to keep our nation fed. . Whilst doing so they created this green and pleasant land that most of us take pride in. . . If M.J.Haines really was an ‘Estate Manager’, then I think he now brings shame on all true countrymen.

Charles Henry

The Ugly Face Of Environmentalism. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reversed a 30-year policy by endorsing the use of DDT for malaria control. The total ban on this product has resulted in deaths from malaria as it is by far the most effective way of controlling mosquitoes in houses. Game shooting contributes massive amounts of money to conservation measures. Todays predatgors are naturally mid range predators. Hunting them takes ouyt elderly and sickly specimins a function that in a well balanced eco system would have been performed by wolves and lynx. The Westcountry is not full of ‘mono cultured’ prairies it has large areas of species rich permanent grassland and hedges which are present and maintained because of farming.

Giles Bradshaw, Rose Ash

Leading Tory, Tim Yeo MP has been on radio appealing to the Tories to take climate change seriously. The fact that he had to do that shows how Cameron’s would-be progressive faction is losing control of the party, and that the dinosaurs are back in charge.

Robert Craig
Somerset

My oh my Editor! . . David Cameron has really got Robert Craig rattled hasn’t he! . . David may only be leader of the opposition at the moment, but he is certainly the only one who has been leading the way on the things that really matter to the electorate.

Charles Henry

Western Daily Press. . News

A predatory con-man who posed as an environmental contractor and cost West charities more than £100,000 in an illegal dumping scam, escaped jail yesterday.

So a conman’s ’sad lapse’ has caused “hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of trouble and heartache", but he gets off with only a £12,000 ‘fine’ and 100 hours work. . . What is the matter with our judiciary? . . Are they really so stupid? . A suspended jail term is understandable; but why not put him to work for that time without any any payment? . Is it any wonder this country is now in such a chaotic state. Criminals go free whilst motorists and hunters are persecuted. . . When is this madness going to end?

Charles Henry

Western Daily Press. . Features/Letters

This is the definition of “massacre” in my dictionary: “The wanton or savage killing of large numbers of people.”

The proposed wanton or savage killing of large numbers of badgers, however, is referred to as a “cull". So that’s all right, then. If a badger cull goes ahead, I advise all horrified and revolted citizens to totally boycott British dairy produce.

I suggest we all make a start now with British butter, and start dealing with our callous farmers in the only currency they appear to understand, ie, cash.

Penny Little
Great Haseley
Oxfordshire

YES!!. . WHOOPEE!!! . . Let’s starve them out and KILL ALL THEIR COWS Penny!! . . .

. . A Mycobacteriun bovis TB EPIDEMIC!!!! . . .

WHO CARES!!!? . . . “LET THEM EAT CAKE!!!” . .

Charles Henry

Quite ‘Errol’. . . Your words not mine. . . . .You are meaning Marie Antoinette I am assuming. . . There is some dispute of course. . .

. . Charles Henry 1945-(diuturnity)

You couldn’t make it up! . . . This Government has to go.

. . Charles Henry 1945-(diuturnity)

During floods crisis, Defra had paid ‘advisers’ £1bn. since 2002. Daily Telegraph

by Melissa Kite and Richard Gray

Vital flood defence funding was cut while ministers spent a record £1 billion on management consultants, new figures reveal.

The Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs more than doubled its spending on information technology specialists, management consultants and temporary staff while cutting £15 million from its flood defence budget.

Written parliamentary answers show that as spending on consultants spiralled into the hundreds of millions of pounds in 2006 and 2007, officials dragged their heels over vital repair work to effluent pipes at a research centre that would eventually cause the foot and mouth outbreak.
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According to figures un-earthed by the Conservatives, Defra spent £140?million on consultants in 2002-3, reaching £290 million in 2006-7. It has spent £1.1 billion since 2002.

The bill is three times the amount the Environment Agency spent on building flood defences last year, despite warnings of severe weather that culminated in the this year’s disastrous downpours.

Most of the money, £490 million, was spent on IT workers administering rural payments to farmers, a system that has been fraught with failures. Farmers have repeatedly been left without the cash help they are entitled to and have had to wade through hundreds of pages of complicated and bureaucratic forms.

Last year the Rural Payments Agency failed to pay £1.5 billion of European subsidies on time to English farmers and landowners. At the same time, it was revealed, staff at the Newcastle upon Tyne office were captured on CCTV leaping naked from filing cabinets and carrying out juvenile pranks.

The parliamentary answers reveal that aside from IT, the consultancy bill was spent on research and development, specialist consultancy, project management and management and business consultancy.

The revelation comes amid spiralling costs in Whitehall on consultants. Spending has reached £2 billion a year and the Commons public accounts committee estimates taxpayers could be saved at least £500 million annually if ministers relied instead on the advice of civil servants.

The spending at Defra dwarfs even the worst offenders elsewhere. Revenue and Customs, singled out by the Public Accounts Committee, spent £106 million on management consultants last year, a third of the Defra spending.

By contrast, many measures important to public safety in Defra’s remit are relatively inexpensive. The cost of re-placing leaking effluent pipes at the Pirbright animal health laboratory, the eventual source of the foot and mouth outbreak, was only £220,000 but it took officials eight months to begin the repairs after receiving tenders.

The answers reveal that estimates for the repair work were received last October but the scheme was not approved until May and work did not begin until July, a month before the outbreak.

Peter Ainsworth, the shadow environment secretary, said: “This is a staggering sum of money which would be hard to justify even if Defra was functioning properly, but it isn’t. While consultants are getting rich on taxpayers’ money, Defra is failing farmers and rural communities.”

He said the figures cast more doubt on the Government’s commitment to flood defences. Nearly 50,000 homes were damaged this summer, costing the country more than £5 billion. About 570,000 homes are in high-risk flood areas and each year thousands more are built on flood plains. Yet the Environment Agency’s flood defence budget was cut by £14 million last year and only small rises are planned.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) lambasted Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, this month after he said spending would increase from £650 million next year to £800 million by 2010. The ABI says the Government needs to spend £800 million now, not in three years, and has warned that families in high-risk areas may be unable to get insurance if spending does not increase.

Meanwhile, the National Audit Office revealed this year that only 57 per cent of Britain’s flood defence systems were in “target condition". And while the Environment Agency said none of its defences failed in the floods in Yorkshire and Gloucestershire, local residents reported that the barriers built to protect them were woefully inadequate to prevent the tide of water that swept through.

Defra has also been accused of failing to ensure that local authorities and water companies take responsibility for maintaining drainage and sewerage systems.

Western Daily Press. . . News

A battle of the boffins broke out yesterday (22nd. October) in the row over whether thousands of badgers should be slaughtered to control bovine TB.

MPs heard evidence from Professor John Bourne, the expert who said earlier this year a cull would not help prevent the spread of the disease in the region.

They also quizzed the Government’s chief scientist Sir David King, who this week issued a shock report backing a cull, to the delight of the National Farmers’ Union.

The gloves came off as Professor Bourne, who chaired the Independent Scientific Group (ISG) on cattle TB, lashed out at Sir David. He said his report was peer-reviewed, and no one had challenged it in scientific journals.

But Prof Bourne told members of the Commons Defra Select Committee that Sir David’s rival report just gave “superficial soundbites” and brought no new science to the table.

“It was clearly hastily written and because of that it’s very superficial and also selective,” he said.

“What’s important is you don’t just cherry-pick data from the (ISG) report and look at the totality of the data gathered over 10 years to draw conclusions.”

Sir David hit back by stressing that he agreed with much of the ISG report, which had said badgers were a continuing cause of infection for cattle, and vice versa.

BUT he disputed Prof Bourne’s conclusion that a cull would not contribute to tackling the problem.

Sir David insisted: “Badger removal, alongside cattle controls, would very likely play an important role in controlling TB in cattle in those areas where there is currently a high level.

“If we can do this in large enough areas, can reduce the movement of badgers by using natural boundaries and can do this over sustained periods of time, we would expect the incidence of TB in cattle would be reduced.”

He admitted the evidence was not as clear-cut as he would like, but said the situation was urgent as there would be a big impact on the farming community.

“I’m simply saying we should not wait for another 10 years of experimentation.

“With incidence of TB in cattle doubling every four and a half years and extending over the country now, it is the time to stop this upward trend.” The Western Daily Press revealed two years ago that ministers favoured a mass cull of badgers, with farmers encouraged to shoot, gas or snare them.

And the RSPCA says it is worried Sir David’s report is “less about science, and more about caving in to the pressure to do something - even if that something is the worst possible action". Any cull would be highly controversial and outrage animal rights groups, with extremists likely to try to prevent it going ahead, which could trigger explosive confrontations with farmers across the West.

Editor, . It is very unfortunate that Professor John Bourne, who had such a high-profile position in the Institute for Animal Health during the BSE inquiry, has now set himself against veterinary colleagues; Sir David King the chief scientist, and farmers; and has blatently aligned himself with animal rights activists in this dispute over Mycobacterium bovis, badgers and bovine tuberculosis. . . We all know that BSE became a ‘political disease’. Furthermore we all now know that the subsequent threat from vCJD never materialised. . It seems he is determined to repeat the exercise. . . . . . . To this day, the true cause of BSE remains unproven, yet it cost the agricultural industry hundreds of millions of pounds, and had an immeasurable cost in human misery. . . . . . Did Professor Bourne not learn anything during that time?

Charles Henry

Western Daily Press. . Features/Letters

Yet again, the UK Government would rather slaughter badgers to appease farmers rather than tackle the real - and diverse - causes of bovine TB, such as poor living conditions, poor medical care, and the many other creatures that can also carry the disease.All concerned know that the cull won’t work, but badgers are an easier target than asking farmers to pay more to keep their cattle disease-free.

The case for badgers being the key source of the disease is based largely on one experiment, where it took four years for infection to take place, if it all, even in a confined space.

From the New Scientist: “… The second piece of evidence implicating badgers is an experiment carried out by researchers at the Central Veterinary Laboratory. They kept five calves and 13 badgers from an infected population in a covered yard of 60 square metres. After four years, the cattle had contracted bovine TB. One badger did not succumb to the disease, and four calves kept in the yard for four weeks were also unaffected.

“The experiment proves that while it is possible for cows to catch bovine TB from badgers, the infection is not easily transmitted. It is almost certainly more difficult for cattle to catch TB from badgers in the wild…”

The Western Daily Press does itself a severe disservice for promoting this latest cull as a way of completely eradicating the disease.

Ian Harling, Redland Bristol

Editor, . . At no time have any commentators suggested that it will be possible to completely eradicate Mycobacterium bovis, the cause of Bovine tuberculosis. It is far too widespread through species in the wild. . And even if a vaccine can be developed; how in the world could all the badgers(or any species) be vaccinated and their stuffy, overcrowded living conditions improved? . . Cattle on the other hand, in a controlled environment, will obviously be able to be vaccinated as could humans at immediate risk, but the task must surely be containment of the disease in the wild to prevent a multi-drug resistant M.bovis TB epidemic that would be catastrophic.

Charles Henry

Western Daily Press. . .Features/Letters

Further to Ruth Kimber’s letter, “The stout defenders of farmers’ interests” (Your Say, October 15), I have bred and kept beef cattle for many years and all the cattle on the farm were born there.They were recently tested, under Government guidance, for bovine tuberculosis, and all tested clear.

One week later, I sent eight animals to the food chain where three were found infected with TB.

The cattle have lived on the same fields, with no movement in or out.

We do have a large number of badgers and virtually no deer, so I strongly suspect the badger is the likely cause of infection.

What is worrying is a letter from the Health Protection Agency asking the following questions:

Have any of your farm workers/family members had direct exposure to the cattle in question?

Have any of your farm workers/family members consumed raw milk from the infected cattle?

Have any of your farm workers/family members (who have direct contact with the cattle) not received their BCG vaccination?

Have any veterinary staffs attended the cattle without protective masks/gloves?

The question not asked is whether the residential neighbours bordering the fields or members of the public come into contact with the cattle.

There is a serious issue with TB which, if not halted, poses a risk to human health and our wildlife. Over-population of badgers is possibly contributing to this.

With the loss of the natural predator we must consider all aspects of welfare, theirs and ours, without hysteria or prejudice.

Kevin Fegan

Editor, . In support of Kevin Fegan’s experience with TB in his cattle, may I once again be allowed to draw yours and everybody else’s attention to some quite prophetic quotes from Dr. Jerome Harms. University of Wisconsin-Madison back in 1997.

Mycobacterium bovis the cause of Bovine Tuberculosis: . . “In contrast (to 1 in 10 immunocompetent humans), nearly all cattle infected with M. bovis develop active disease and can transmit the organism to other animals or humans.".

“Recently, there have been many outbreaks of M.bovis caused tuberculosis in humans especially HIV+ patients. Most have occurred in countries where M.bovis is endemic in the animal agriculture population. Multi-drug resistant strains of M. bovis are now appearing as well. The significance of this TB threat from M. bovis has not been taken as seriously as the threat from Mycobacterium TB.". .

“However, the scientific and medical community must not ignore the potential of an M.bovis TB epidemic.”

My own assessment is that there is absolutely no point at all in culling cattle, if we do not first radically reduce the invasion of their pasture by other infected species. . . The Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir David King has now officially backed up these thoughts.

Charles Henry

Western Daily Press. . Features/Letters

I would like to respond to Charles Henry’s comments, “Horses treated better than us” (Your Say, October 19).

As a health care worker I feel saddened that Mr Henry chooses to let the media sway his opinion of the National Health Service and, disturbingly, does not take into account all the good work and amazing people who work within it to provide a high standard of patient care.

Unfortunately, this is an area which is often neglected by the media, where it seems the norm that news is more worthy if it is publishing the negative perspective rather than the good things that go on in our world today.

However, Mr Henry also, like so many, maybe fails to realise the wasteful consumer society that we live in.

If it wasn’t for the fact we over-breed horses in order to cater for our needs to hunt, race, show-jump and get our children into pony clubs, maybe less of these unwanted horses and ponies would need to go to the knacker’s yard.

The association of man and horse nowadays is something more of what we’d have with our mobile phone, a relationship that treats our equines as more of disposable consumables, than living creatures.

Jennifer Forsyth
Chard

Editor, . Jennifer Forsyth Chard should be made aware that it is not the media that has swayed my opinion of the Health Service, but the deaths of both members of my family and close friends in recent years. . She should also be made aware that my Mother was a Ward Sister, and a total of at least 9 family members are Qualified staff at all levels, including two sisters(one in-law) and one daughter. One is running five establishments in the private sector now. . . . My comments were objective and well founded, and prompted by the obsessional antipathy so many now seem to have to farmers and the equine world stirred up by animal rights activists. . . Yes there are many good people having to be involved in animal rescue, but people have ‘mud in their eyes’ if they are not aware of many of the frightening shortcomings that are now affecting the N.H.S. . . I fear a great deal of it is down to the 21st. Century work ethic that seems more concerned with ‘Weekend Breaks’ than making sure that jobs are done properly. . The nonsense over the reaction to a necessary badger cull demonstrates how Government acolytes are putting animals before the population’s health and people’s livelihoods.

Since the announcement by Sir David King the Government’s chief scientific adviser, of a necessary badger cull of 80% in the worst affected areas, we will all no doubt once again be subjected to the activists twisted interpretation of the so-called ‘Krebs trials’.

Charles Henry

We have five horses and ponies who are all looked after well. The children absolutely adore them. Riding and caring for these animals teaches them respect and is the complete opposite of our ‘throwaway society’. I have no idea why Jennifer Forsyth seeks to portray a relationship between human and animal from which both benefit massively in such a negative light. Properly cared for animals have wonderful lives and kind deaths. The death of an animal in the wild is almost invariably far more unpleasant than that of a domesticated animal.

Giles Bradshaw, Rose Ash

At this juncture Editor, it would do no harm at all in reminding people that the same week a Judge found two appellants guilty of breaking the discredited ‘Hunting Act’; another Judge freed a black thug who punched a disabled OAP whilst on a bus; blinding him in one eye. . . “You couldn’t make it up!”

Charles Henry

What both Charles and Giles forget to mention or acknowledge is the sheer number of ponies and horses that are destroyed each year and shipped of to France as horse meat. A few hundred horses a year being putdown because owners did not want to care for them, then OK that’s life. But when the numbers are in the tens of thousands, you cannot expect people to ignore these facts. Something is very wrong with the equine world, stop painting over the cracks.

Graham Forsyth, Somerset

What does Graham Forsyth think the fact that some nations; notably the French; eat horse meat, so therefore there is a market for dead horses got to do with anything as long as the process is humane? . . Even if cannibalism was still in vogue on the continent; I feel sure my wife would prefer I was cremated if I choose that route when the time comes.

Of course Editor thinking about it; knowing my wife; she won’t tell DEFRA anyway. She’ll just get a neighbour to dig a hole down the fields somewhere and bury me anyway; even if it is illegal now. You know, ‘environmentally unfriendly’

Charles Henry

Charles Henry’s views that there exists a “21st Century work ethic that seems more concerned with ‘Weekend Breaks’ than making sure that jobs are done properly..", are quite rude in relation to facts. Britain is one of many EU countries where the average working week is way and above what is recommended. If I was a family member of his I would feel hurt for him to suggest that I did not put my time, effort and compassion into my work within the healthcare profession. Sure there are shortfalls. Money not going where it should be, for more staff and accessible resources for patients in order to improve patient care. However if I had a choice of whether to be a patient or farmer’s livestock, I know which I’d choose! And as for the badger cull, that’s just another excuse to satisfy a want and need to kill. Just look at Ireland where a badger cull was carried out and the cases of tuberculosis doubled as a result! Scientific studies even prove that a cull would be ineffective. So why the farmers keep on trying to exhaust this avenue is beyond me.

Jennifer Forsyth, Chard

Recommended by whom Miss Forsyth? . . Some European ‘Jobs Worths’ who have never done a proper days work in their lives? . . The ‘Cap Fits’ in many cases Miss Forsyth; as plenty can testify I can assure you. . My comments were not aimed at my family members or any one in particular; that much should have been obvious. . But ‘Work Avoidance’ has been the pastime of many in all walks of life since time immemorial. . . If you had ever been an employer you would be acutely aware of the fact. . Success in any field of work comes from diligence and hard work, not clock watching.

Charles Henry

The ILPH estimates an overall horse population in the Uk of approximately 1 million with about 34,000 being disposed of each year. 52% going to knackers yards, 29% to abattoirs for export as horsemeat and 19% to hunt kennels. What Mr Forsyth seems to have a problem with is that if you have a population of a million animals then you are going to have tens of thousands dieing each year. Would Mr Forsyth prefer these animals had ‘natural’ deaths. They would be far more unpleasant than humane slaughter. I’d far prefer to see horses eaten than buried or burnt. If I was to come back as an animal it would be as either a dog or a horse.

In 2004, the UK dog population was 6.8 million. Given a average life of 12 years that means 500,000 canine deaths a year. Most of them humanely destroyed. In 2004 the UK Cat population was 9.58 million. That entails another 500,000 or so feline deaths a year. It’s a shame that cats and dogs aren’t suitable to be fed to humans as well. Maybe we should look at korea as an export market for these ex-pets.

Giles Bradshaw, rose ash

These horses rather like some breed of dogs are bred for sport and recreational purposes. So if we breed too many dogs should we have them put down and sent to Asia for eating? It’s the fact that so many fit and healthy horses are being disposed of as horsemeat - rather like the mobile phone we replace so frequently.

Graham Forsyth, Somerset

You speak for yourself Mr. Forsyth. . My mobile phone is a nearly 7 year old Orange Savvy. . . This demonstrates yet again just how our priorities differ.

Charles Henry

But Graham horses are made of meat. What is wrong with them getting eaten when they have been put down. In nature everything that dies get’s eaten. Horses do not live forever and there comes a time when it makes sense to have them humanely destroyed. They aren’t like old dogs that you can just leave in a basket by the fire. The fact is that people in general give horses fantastic lives and when they have died they can provide people with a fantastic meal. Why can’t you look at the positive side of things? If you have a national population of a million horses then tens of thousands are going to die each year. It is far better for everyone concerned that these horses are humanely destroyed rather than left to die a ‘natural’ death. I’d far prefer one of my horses was shot than for it to die a slow painful lingering death. Also I’d prefer a horse of mine to be humanely destroyed a little too early than a little too late. PS pretty much ALL breeds of dogs these days are bred for sport or recreational purposes. What on earth is wrong with that? Most dogs have an absolutely fantastic life.

“It’s the fact that so many fit and healthy horses are being disposed of as horsemeat ” If the ILPH figures are correct then only 3.4% of horses are humanely destroyed every year. It is highly likely that most of thoise are elderly horses. The simple fact is that horses very rarely just drop dead in the field. They are put down. Most of the time this is in their best interests.

Giles Bradshaw, rose ash

I think Giles Bradshaw forgets the great issue that even the ILPH acknowledge, of the over breeding of horses. I’ve said this in my letter which was published yeaterday, and I’ll say it again, if horses were not over bred in the first place to satisfy the racing industry, (an area we have yet to discuss and one which opens yet another whole minefield in relation to horse welfare), or the horse and pony private market sales, then we would have less of the issue with regards to numbers of horses and ponies in the UK. After contacting the ILPH with reference to over breeding and slaughter of horses, they directed me to a website, www.equinehealthandwelfarestrategy.co.uk, which is currently looking at this problem. This somewhat suggests to me and should highlight to Charles Henry and Giles Bradshaw that there is a problem with equine welfare and over breeding, and it needs addressing. This is what both myself and Graham Forsyth have been trying to explain. As a life long horse lover, the reality of so many of these animals ending up at slaughter houses just seems so wrong. It may be humane in its method but I feel horses and ponies alike deserve better. They have hundreds of years provided service, pleasure and love to man, serving them up on a plate as a so called “fantastic meal” such as Giles Bradshaws assures us, is actually quite disgusting.

Jennifer Forsyth, Chard

Editor, . Miss Forsyth obviously knows absolutely nothing about breeding horses. Her very use of the words ‘over breeding’ is foolhardy and ignorance personified. What does she think ‘geldings’ are? . And who does she think does the operation? . . ‘Father Time’. . . Breeders will leave only their finest stock ‘entire’ and with a gestation period of 11 months, it will only be selected mares that are served. Other owners will use elected stallions. It is only a few of the Native herds that are actually running with a stallion. . . The other thing she seems completely oblivious to is the fact that there is a legal requirement for ALL horses have to have Passports now, with full medication history. . . This is in case the French want to eat one they will know what they are consuming. . . Of course certain ‘groups’ will be completely ignoring all these veterinary niceties and legal protocols. . But they are notoriously difficult to monitor and pin down because they are always on the move. Perhaps that is where she should be directing her anguish.

Charles Henry

*********** A TREATY TOO FAR ************

******* ‘JUDAS’ BROWN IS FINISHED ******

Gordon Brown is finished ‘Errol’. . . . People were prepared to give him a chance if he abandoned all the New-Labour deceit. . . . He will rue the day he abused the trust the British people gave him. . . ‘War’ has been finally declared. . . . They are no longer denying their intentions. . . Where Hitler failed, the European Soviets are succeeding. . . Our borders have crumbled and Britain is about to be taken over. . . When Blair becomes the proposed New President of Europe; with Peter Mandelson already well ‘dug in’; the New-Labour ‘deceit machine’ will be fully enconsed on the European gravy train. . . They are all simply unable to stop lying to us. . . Their final aim a ‘Country called Europe’. . .

Lewis Hamilton? . . I think the ‘BIG GIRLS’; Kimi, Alonzo and Philipe’ just couldn’t take being upstaged by a rooky driver ‘Errol’. . . They had obviously all planned the start. . . I believe Philipe’ Massa drove dangerously and should have been disqualified for pulling in front of Lewis and then slowing to enable Kimi Raikkonen to pass him. It also allowed Fernando Alonzo to get by. . . Of course if there was an infringement of the rules by other teams; just as McClaren were penalised, so should they have been. . . Disqualifications would certainly have returned some ‘justice’ to the situation. . . If it had been Michael Schumacher in a Ferrari, he would have just taken them all out! . . . On reflection there is probably nothing worthwhile to be achieved by ‘raking over the embers’. . They will no doubt all have had some regrets the following morning. . . Lewis Hamilton has just played ‘hard-ball’ with the big guys and will now be an even tougher competitor next season; and now really highly respected. . .

. . Charles Henry 1945-(diuturnity)

Western Daily Press. . . Features/Letters

There is a complete breakdown in law and order in the UK at present.

I was recently the victim of a racist assault in Minehead. The police officer who attended the scene commented that “there was absolutely no chance of a prosecution".

The PC said that he wasn’t going to bother to investigate, and that the Crown Prosecution Service drops more than half the cases that reach them.

Aside from the manifest injustice in this individual case, the incompetent policing and prosecution system gives the green light to brainless thugs to commit more offences.

Currently, there is no deterrent - criminals rightly believe there is a high chance of them getting away Scot free.

We need much better policing in this country. Detection rates must be much higher. There must be an end to the appalling bureaucracy which means many officers spend five hours of their shift doing paperwork.

They should be out on the streets tackling crime, and not be bogged down by the red tape imposed by this failed Labour Government.

We in UKIP want to see many more officers on the beat. Uniformed police on foot patrol have a deterrent effect.

Criminals are put off from committing offences by this visible police presence and law abiding members of the public are reassured. It is a disgrace that bobbies on the beat are rarely seen in the West these days.

There must be huge improvements in the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure that the vast majority of cases before them result in convictions.

Like the Labour Government, judges and magistrates are far too soft on crime.

We need much stiffer sentences, not just as punishment but also to deter potential offenders.

Many more jails must be built in Britain - lack of prison space is often given as a reason for lenient sentencing.

Radical reform of criminal justice in the UK is urgently required to restore law and order to the streets of this country.

Andy Patten
Weston-super-Mare
North Somerset

Despite what Andy Patten asserts, the ‘indigenous English’ are clearly now the most ‘put upon’ section of our society at this time. . All other groupings; from Travellers to Gypsies; from European Immigrants to Muslims and Asians; to Afro Caribbeans and Africans, and particularly the Welsh and Scottish all now have Quangos or departments or Parliaments that have been set up to defend their Interests. . As crime soars and our borders crumble; whose looking after ours?. . Gordon Brown and New-Labour? . . You must be joking! .

Charles Henry

Western Daily Press. . Features/Letters

The new landlord of a once gay-friendly pub was fined £500 yesterday after placing a sign outside reading: “Faggots and mince not on the menu!".

The homophobic slur was scrawled on a blackboard outside the Anchor and Hope in Trowbridge just a few days after landlord Adrian Taylor, 53, moved in.

Police were alerted by the previous tenants - two gay men - and Taylor was charged with causing “harassment, alarm or distress” under Section 5 of the Public Order Act.

Yesterday, Taylor appeared at Chippenham Magistrates’ Court in Wiltshire, where he denied writing the sign himself but admitted he found it amusing.

Magistrates rejected claims by his legal team that the phrase “faggot” is only offensive to homosexuals in America and it could have related to food.

They found Taylor guilty because he failed to remove the sign for 24 hours after being asked to remove it.

Sentencing him to a £500 fine, magistrate Lynn Mathews said: “The sign was offensive and in direct relation to the former landlords.

“It is naive to think that faggots and mince is a simple reference to food. I am sure that Mr Taylor knew the sign was insensitive.

“Mr Taylor, you must realise that society will not tolerate this behaviour.”

Former landlords John Williams, 40, and his partner Lee Skaife, 26, had run the pub in Trowbridge for 15 months until Mr Williams had an angina attack in September 2006. They said the pub was gay-friendly but never run as a gay bar. But they were outraged when they drove past the pub on May 3 this year and spotted the blackboard sign.

Mr Skaife, who is now manager of a shoe shop, said: “We could see the sign from the road when were driving past.

“I took it to mean it was about my sexuality and it was about being gay. We didn’t even know who the new landlord was.

“We knew a new person had taken it over and we had told the locals to support him because so many people failed to make that pub successful.

“But the sign was saying we were faggots. I found this extremely offensive. I have been suffering from anxiety since the incident.”

Mr Skaife immediately called his mother Carol, a secretary, who phoned Taylor and then alerted the police.

She said: “I called the pub and said I wanted to know if they were selling faggots and mince. I asked the landlord what he meant by this and he said it was called a sense of humour.

“I replied that I found it offensive and would be calling my solicitor. I called the police after the phone call.”

Taylor, who is still running the pub, failed to remove the sign for almost 24 hours despite also being contacted by police.

He told the court: “When I first saw the sign I smiled. I did not write it myself and I don’t know who did. At the time I couldn’t see why it would be offensive.

“I still stand by the fact that I have done nothing wrong. I can’t be responsible for every member of public who walks past.

“The sign is easily accessible from the road. Anyone could have written it.”

Malcolm Wick, for Taylor, claimed the word faggot was only offensive to homosexuals in America and that was why the landlord failed to understand it was a slur.

While cross-examining Mr Skaife, he said: “You thought that the sign was a sexual innuendo against you. But it could be describing a dish, couldn’t it?”

Speaking outside court, Mr Williams, who is now a hairdresser, said: “This case isn’t just for us, it’s for every gay person across the world.

“Nobody should have to be the victim of this type of crime when so much has changed for the homosexual community.

“It isn’t about the fine or the amount, it is about the fact they found him guilty.

“Maybe it will make others think twice before committing these crimes in the future.”

Taylor refused to comment outside court but vowed to appeal against the conviction.

Editor, . The more the law is used in circumstances such as these, the more the population will react against it I believe. . As was shown with the ‘Doggers on the Downs’ recently. . If the Pub had previously been a Lap Dancing Club and someone had written something derogatory about ‘Slappers and Ogglers’; Would anyone have ‘Given a Toss’? . Perhaps it’s the morals and sexuality of those making judgement that needs to be called into question.

Charles Henry

‘LAW-ABIDING MOTORISTS HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR’

With such a disappointing portrayal of this excellent policing tool which made the front page under the banner of “exclusive” ("Drive-by spies", Post, October 15), and a whole column under “Comment” ("Big brother is watching you for sure"), I feel compelled to respond. First of all, the cameras are not hidden.

There are locations where, for obvious reasons, some cannot be seen, such as overhead gantries on the Second Severn Crossing, but otherwise if you really look, (if you are one who would be concerned, that is), you can see all of them.

The strategic location of these cameras has been well thought out with a view to protecting the lives and property of the residents of this police area.

With the current threat level, it would be very irresponsible of the police not to take advantage of every means at their disposal to detect those who use the roads for extremist purposes, to prey on our old folk through distraction burglary or to peddle illegal drugs on the streets of our major towns and cities.

The “exclusive” described a situation which has been in place in this force area and nationally for five years.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition was, in fact, developed by the military more than 30 years ago for counter-terrorism purposes.

Its use by the police across the country started just over five years ago, and for the information of Mister X ("Drivers’ anger at cops’ tactic", Open On-line, October 17), I could fill several editions of the Post with “real policing” stories.

These include the car which was stopped on a sleepy Tuesday morning in Keynsham because ANPR showed it as unregistered, and the driver - after a violent struggle with a lone police motorcyclist - was arrested for armed robbery in London and murder in Jamaica.

Or the stolen car on the Second Severn Crossing which was followed down the M5 by the force helicopter, the occupants arrested and a large amount of crack cocaine seized, and so on and so on.

This - for me, anyway - epitomises real policing in this technological age.

ANPR cameras are capable of reading 3,000 vehicle registration plates per hour of vehicles travelling at up to 100 miles per hour.

The point here is that it is number plates being read and stored (the overview of the car and maybe the occupant or occupants are not available unless there is an alarm), and that information only becomes personal information when very specific action is taken, such as steps to ascertain the registered keeper’s details.

These steps require access codes, personal identification and very specific reasons before the information is divulged, and any police officer or police staff member who breaks the rules is dealt with very severely.

Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 places a legal responsibility on the police to consult with partners on issues such as this. From the outset, lengthy consultation has been undertaken with Crime and Disorder Partnerships across the force area, often involving council cabinets and/or elected representatives.

I have personally given presentations to a variety of audiences about the effectiveness of ANPR because it is no secret, and there has been publicity across all media at various stages during the last five years.

In response to the comment “so every day, when you get in your car to go to work, there is every chance that the police know where you go” - there is no chance that the police know where you go until you give them reason to find out.

To answer the questions “so what if the police have you on film?” - they do not, and “if you haven’t done anything wrong, they’re not going to come knocking on your door, are they?” - no, they are not.

I’ve said a lot, but to all you law-abiding motorists and citizens, the message is simple - this technology is on your side.

Its use by the police - covert or otherwise - will continue in the fight against criminals using the roads.

You have nothing to fear from it.

Graham Watkins,senior project manager,Avon and Somerset Police’s corporate project department.

People like Graham Watkins just don’t seem to get it do they. . Honest people simply don’t wish to be Spied upon. . This argument “If you have done nothing wrong you have nothing to fear", is now wearing a bit thin. . . . Cameras have just become an excuse for Police inactivity. . Crime is no longer being prevented, it is simply being RECORDED. . . When we bring up our children there comes a time when we all let them go out into the wide world, to learn, and to make a few mistakes on their own. . We don’t scrutinise them with secret cameras. . Life away from the glare and gaze of others is a basic human right, and even a necessity. . Mr.Watkins would do well to remember that.

Charles Henry

The Editor
Letters
Western Daily Press

Published 19th. October 2007

Dear Editor,

Miss Forsyth’s letter, “So many unwanted horses are slaughtered needlessly” (Your Say, October 17) is unfortunate. She is distorting the reality of the complex association of man and horse.

If the human population was afforded the same love and medical attention afforded to equines by the vast majority of their owners, our health service would be being feted, not continually criticised as it now is.

A trip to the “knacker’s” or to the vet might be a choice many of us would find preferable to a miserable end in some of our hospitals.

Yours

Charles Henry

Western Daily Press. . Features/Letters

“SWAMPY HELPED WAKE UP WORLD”

The disparaging remarks by the Ryanair boss about the “Swampies” of this world (Western Daily Press, October 13) is quite out of place. The world is a better place since Swampy appeared.

It is the Swampies of this world who are bringing about changes in the way we live and work, to such a degree unheard of at the time when Swampy was making news.

It is the Swampies of this world who have awakened the masses to the damage in the tropical rain- forests and the plight of the indigenous people who live there and the dangers threatening the small, independent traders from out-of-town supermarket giants.

It is the Swampies of this world who have finally woken a sleepy Government to the preciousness of our countryside, the unique nature of our small, vibrant towns and villages.

It is the Swampies of this world who have reminded the Government, that people have a right to be heard about developments which threaten their chosen places of peace and quiet.

The full significance of the place environmental campaigners now occupy, in guiding the Government away from an environmental disaster, is now being acknowledged.

Only this weekend, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to former vice-president Al Gore. Such is the unstoppable train of events which is awakening the world to the changes that must be made by the human race, who reside within the present industrialised systems.

The Stop Bristol Airport Expansion campaigner Susan Pearson is one of many people who are now influencing the Government against further expansion to airports.

D Harvey Chippenham

Editor, . .The Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary is just one of the many thousands of ‘High Flyers’ who are just waking up to the fact that their ‘days are numbered’. . They are clinging to a forlorn hope that everyone is mistaken, and they will be able to carry on regardless ignoring events as the days and years pass. . . They all will for a while for sure. . . But it was allegedly Christian humility which made King Canute reject his courtiers’ flattery by demonstrating that even he could not stop the waves. . . It was hostile chroniclers who later claimed it just showed his madness. . Is there anyone out there who really believes the new Airbus A380 is ‘environmentally friendly’? . . It’s no different than Saddam Hussein setting fire to all the oil wells I suppose!!

Charles Henry

“SO MANY UNWANTED HORSES ARE SLAUGHTERED NEEDLESSLY”

Editor, . . Miss Forsyth Chard’s letter is unfortunate. She is distorting the reality of the complex association of man and horse. . . For what purpose I am not clear. . . If the Human population were afforded the same love and medical attention that is afforded to equines by the vast majority of their owners, our Health service would be being feted; not continually criticised as it now is. . A trip to the ‘knackers’, or to the Vets with ‘Half-a-Crown’; might well be a choice many of us would find preferable to a miserable end in some of our hospitals these days.

Charles Henry

“KILLING IS NOT ONLY ANSWER TO DISEASE”

Here we go again - “Surge in cattle TB fuels calls for badger cull” (Western Daily Press, October 3). After all the scientific evidence against badger killing, and seven years of interference and damage to badger populations, these farmers are still whingeing.In the past, farmers have killed with snares, poisons, shotguns, dogs, gas, something that has been going on for years, yet 18 months into better cattle movement restrictions, and not even giving it time to prove itself, off they go again. “It isn’t working - let’s go back to mass killing of our wildlife again.”

It does seem that every time something goes wrong with their mass production systems they blame it on our wildlife, ramblers, imports, or the wind blowing in the wrong direction.

Over the years we have had swine fever, foot-and-mouth, bird flu, all of these diseases starting, as with cattle TB, in badly ventilated over populated unhygienic herds and flocks. I have always believed that you should work with Mother Nature and not use and abuse her, or she will retaliate.

I would advise farmers to change their attitudes or accept the consequences - and don’t expect everyone else to keep baling them out. We are fed up with it.

M J Haines Cirencester

Clearly the activists must have read ‘the writing on the wall’ Editor. . . Their rhetoric has now become so foolish and extreme that it must be acting as a beacon of light for the hard pressed farming community. . M.J.Haines letter is sending a clear signal that they have at last all completely lost the argument and are now resorting to blind ignorance, bigotry, prejudice and hatred in pursuit of their twisted agenda. . They would rather that TB and other disease gradually subsumed all our domestic animals and wildlife alike; than sensible measures were taken to protect both human health and our farming industry.

Charles Henry

“RIGHT TO TAKE BOY’S TOY GUN”

Yes, I quite agree with what the Wiltshire police did, taking the toy gun away from the boy as, four years ago this Christmas, my grandsons in Cranbrook, Kent, had their toy guns taken away from them by the police.They were taken to the police station and were actually in the cells there. They were only playing in the woods just over the road from their house.

I do not think the Wiltshire policeman was a petty time-waster - he was merely doing his duty.

Mrs Maud Harris Nr Glastonbury

As one of the generation brought up with, Roy Rogers, The Cisco Kid and The Lone Ranger; together with all the garb and the ‘Six Guns’ and holsters, it makes me really despair at Maud Harris’s mentality. . . We are the people who want a return to ‘conservative’ (small ‘C’) values and standards, and the days of little crime; when the majority were honest and law abiding, and murder and killing was a rarity. . Maud represents this new ‘PC’ thinking that has been such a disaster for the fabric of this modern society. . . Many generations of ‘learning’ have be discarded and replaced by this modern culture of mayhem and indiscipline. . These ‘liberals’ have a lot to answer for. . . Sir Menzies Campbell’s departure may just be ‘a blessing in disguise’ when we can again unite and begin to return some sanity to this society before it is too late.

Charles Henry

‘Curb Crawling’ is now illegal in Scotland!

But ‘DOGGING ON THE DOWNS’ is quite OK now in BRISTOL!

THANKS TO NEW-LABOUR!!!

YOU COULDN’T MAKE IT UP!



BROKEN SOCIETY!??? . .

WHAT BROKEN SOCIETY!??????

Yes ‘Errol’; I don’t really where this world is going any more. . . If we don’t all act very soon, there may well be no way back. . .

. . Charles Henry 1945-(diuturnity)

“The light of the churches is so faint and flickering that these creeping things of darkness have come out into the open.

Let’s now turn the light of God’s Word directly upon this epitome of moral degradation, and send the Sodomites scurrying back into their hiding places.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Raymond Blanton

Gordon Brown must be wondering just what it is he has done that has made the ‘Gods of Politics’ so angry. . . With the naivety of child on their first day at school, that has made his early days at the despatch box seem like they were ‘much better times’, it’s all he can do to stop himself bursting into tears now he realises his ‘mummy’ has left him to cope with the ‘nasty school bullies’ all on his own.

There is one thing that would restore faith in his honesty and integrity. . . A REFERENDUM ON THE LATEST TREATY GIVING THE VOTERS A SIMPLE AND HONEST CHOICE. . . . TO EITHER AFFIRM IT, OR JUST REJECT IT AS THE ‘FAKE’ IT CLEARLY IS. . . .

New-Labour Deceit and Spin will call for a question that attempts to embarrass and divide. . . If he takes the deceitful line or just affirms the treaty regardless; he will be forever tainted as

. . . ‘THE HEROD OF BRITISH POLITICS’.

Indeed it is ‘Errol’. . much worse. . . But at least he still has a chance of redemption. . .

. . Charles Henry 1945-(diuturnity)

Western Daily Press. . . Features/Letters

The letter from Mr Robert Craig on climate change “Slow to act on climate change” (Your Say, October 6) raises some interesting issues, and I feel compelled to make a reply.

There is no hard scientific evidence that human activities affect climate change one way or another.

Reputable climatologists strongly disassociate themselves from the outpourings of the United Nations’ Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change - from which some 40 or more scenarios (not predictions) have emerged since 1988 when the IPCC was brought into existence.

The IPCC came into being as a panic-stricken response to a paper presented by a Dr James E Hansen to a congressional hearing held in Washington, on a scorching hot day in July 1988.

He predicted that global temperatures would rise by some 3.5 degrees Celsius within the next 10 years. Up to that time, since the end of the so-called mini ice age which had lasted from the mid-18th century to 1870, global temperatures had risen by no more than 0.7 degrees Celsius.

The predictions generated by the eminent doctor caused an international panic, the ripples of which we are still feeling today. The UN then formed the IPCC to advise the international community what to do. The gravy train had started to roll.

When 1998 came, 10 years later, and global temperatures had risen above the 1988 levels by a factor not unadjacent to zero, the good doctor, in a paper entitledTrends of Measured Climate Forcing Agents retracted his earlier paper and stated quite clearly: “… it is not possible to evaluate the level of greenhouse gases generated by the human race …”

Too late! The IPCC gravy train was rolling and nothing was going to stop it… and nothing did. Every time a reputable climatologist questioned the veracity of one or another of the IPCC’s scenarios, its collection of well-paid bureaucrats and tame scientists postulated another “end-of-the-world” apocalyptic vision. And so it goes on.

Greedy and cynical politicians across the world have latched on to this gigantic, puerile - but seemingly genuine - hoax, and are raising so-called “greenhouse taxes” against the incomes and life- styles of gullible, credulous and understandably scientifically ignorant taxpayers.

I D Metcalfe
Oldland
Common

Reply Published 12th.0ctober 2007

Editor, . . I.D.Metcalfe has constructed a ‘very comfortable mindset’ for himself; so enabling ‘him and his’ to ‘carry on as usual’ without any remorse. . . I really quite envy him. . As far as I’m concerned; if everybody stops ‘beating me up’ about my ‘4x4 Gas Guzzlers’; and faces up to the indisputable fact, that the majority of traffic congestion in cities has been caused by the hideous growth of traffic lights and Zebra Crossings; I will cease campaigning for a ‘Total Ban On All Air Travel’; particularly for foreign holidays. . I think the saying is ‘What’s sauce for the Goose’.

Charles Henry

“CITY’S NEW SHOPPING CENTRE WILL BE ‘BEST IN BRITAIN’.”

This is wonderful news Editor. . “The Best Shopping Centre in Britain!". . Wow! . . The only problem is; after well over 30 years of “YOUR CAR IS NOT WELCOME HERE” politics; Bristol has now become the Anti-Car Capital of the Country, with a reputation for being a directional Traffic Night Mare; almost impossible to navigate even with SAT Nav. The word out there is, “Avoid Central Bristol At ALL Cost unless ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.

Charles Henry

THERE IS A VERY OLD OLD ADAGE.

WHEN YOU ARE IN A HOLE, . . STOP DIGGING!!!

SOMEONE SHOULD TELL ALL GORDON’S ‘FRIENDS’ ABOUT IT.

I feel sure he will learn a lesson from this ‘Errol’. . . It took quite a long time for Tony to realise he had been rumbled also. . .

. . Charles Henry 1945-(diuturnity)

STOP PRESS!! . . . . . HE BOTTLED IT!!!!!
****************************************

1. WELL OVER TWO MORE YEARS WITH HIS PRESENT MAJORITY

2. FOUR MORE YEARS WITH A SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCED MAJORITY.

OR QUITE POSSIBLY;

3. BACK TO OPPOSITION.

Well you never know ‘Errol’. . He may just ride it out, buoyed up by his own self-belief and of those around him. . . Stranger things have happened you know. . . We could be stuck with him for another ten years yet. . What ever happens; there are now many people who will always be eternally grateful to him. . There have been many big winners. .

What we are not really sure about yet is the number of losers. . .

. . Charles Henry 1945-(diuturnity)

Western Daily Press. . Features/Letters

In yet another attack on walkers ("Coastal path policy puts walkers at risk", Western Daily Press, September 4), Chris Rundle surpasses himself.

To follow the logic of his argument, all drivers should be denied the use of roads because of the actions of irresponsible motorists; and nobody (except Mr Rundle, presumably) would suggest that Somerset beaches should be closed because of mud-trapping incidents. So why should sensible walkers be denied coastal access because of the actions of the stupid?

Mr Rundle is a vigorous champion of the farming and landowning community and has little time for other countryside users. Over the years, the farmers have had more financial support from the taxpayer than almost any other sector of the economy. It will gain much in goodwill at little cost if the coast is opened up to all.

Brian Hill
Taunton
Somerset

Brian Hill’s rhetoric typifies the mis-information and spin that has finally brought this New-Labour Government into terminal decline. . If there is one sector of the community who don’t ask for much, but toil relentlessly for long hours with little reward; it is the farmers and all those in agriculture. . . . Their only crime! . . During two world wars, and between them and since; when asked to produce the food our nation needed to survive; through rain and shine and all adversity, they came up with the goods. . . Now when the nation is ‘clocking off’ and enjoying their long weekend breaks; a minority of misanthropes insist on spreading their destructive venom. . . . I hope they are all feeling proud.

Charles Henry

What Charles Henry omitted was that Miners, Shipbuilders, Steelmakers also produced the goods. But when times got hard they were made redundant and told to get on your bikes. However farmers get paid for sewing the seeds and scattering and they also get paid for doing nothing. You keep seeing signs ‘Buy British Beef’ on the back of a Mitsubishi 4 x 4?s, and that helped the demise of the UK motor industry. But Charles are we not welcome on the Coast, shall we see KEEP OUT and PRIVATE signs?

Andrew Burton, Somerset

What is it with people like Andrew Burton? . . Do they get up every morning and take ‘nasty pills’? . “Mitsubishi 4x4s", that phrase says it all and demonstrates his ‘misinformation and vitriol’ precisely. . Have farmers ever questioned the hard work, integrity and enterprise of any of these trades; whose political leaders seem to have deliberately fostered division and hatred based on an envy which has no sensible basis?. . . Since time immemorial, across the world; the ‘peasants’ have been leaving the land to seek their fortune in the big Cities. . . And so just who are all these people who suddenly need even more access to the coast? . Are we all suddenly going to be given the right to take short cuts across everyone else’s ‘back garden’? . And funny you know; I thought LAND ROVER was one of the strongest and most sought after ‘brands’ in the world?

Charles Henry

In reply to T Harding’s bitter words against me and Radio Bristol, if the station did lose listeners the previous year, then surely that is why Managing Editor Tim Pemberton made changes to address this in the first place?! All changes have a bedding in period - obviously T Harding prefers to nestle up to another station and nobody can argue with that just as he cannot argue with the recent listening figures.
Annette Hennessy, Portishead

GET SOME RED WINE IN, AND BRING BACK TURNER!!! . . (Tablets are in the post John; A cheque will do!) . . . . Shame about the strike.

Charles Henry

I read your headline “Even the council has had enough of speed cameras” (Western Daily Press, September 29) with horror. What a dreadful attitude this shows towards the prevention of speeding and saving of lives.

RoadPeace is a charity that supports road traffic victims and we have many calls to our helpline from families of those killed by speeding drivers. It is a dreadful, unexpected and always violent death. Then there are those who are severely injured who now face life with a carer, unable to continue at school or work.

It must be remembered that safety cameras will only catch drivers who are breaking the law by speeding. I tend to think that those who protest about the use of safety cameras know full well that they speed and are determined not to stop doing so.

Surely, we punish those who break the law?

Those who waste public money destroying cameras are putting people’s lives at risk.

Rita J Taylor
Area Representative
RoadPeace
Castle Cary

“AND THE SELF-RIGHTEOUS WILL INHERIT THE EARTH .” . . . . Well I hope they have to pay all the Inheritance Tax then!!!!!!

Charles Henry

If cameras had only always been used just to catch people who are driving dangerously or at excessive speed ‘Errol’, they would have the respect of everyone. . . . But we all know too well they have been used by ‘control freaks’ just to raise revenue. . . They are mostly sited in places to catch people unaware who are driving quite reasonably.

That’s not quite how I would have put it ‘Errol’. . . but we are thinking along similar lines. . .

. . Charles Henry 1945-(diuturnity)

Western Daily Press. . . Features/Letters

Why all the fuss about the urgent need for a snap election?

Surely Gordon Brown realises the longer trendy Dave stays leader of the new liberal Conservative Party the more likely that Brown and his Labour Government will have nothing to worry about.

Whenever he calls an election in the future, Labour will win by a mile.

What is true, though, is that there is a need for a new right-of-centre party to fill the traditional Conservative values and ideology vacuum that now exists.

Traditional Conservatives at the moment have nowhere to go.

Simon Icke Aston Clinton Buckinghamshire

I often wondered where the term ‘A Bucket Load’ really originated. . . . Was it always just ‘Agricultural’? . . But suddenly it has become clear!

It is obviously from the Labour Party Central Office; where they realise this may be the last chance Gordon has of securing his own mandate before his bubble finally bursts, and the electorate realises “The Emperor has no Clothes"….. Of course we had all hoped the ’spin and deceit’ had left with Tony; but no! . . The first chance Gordon gets to ‘Pull a Number’ in Iraq, away he goes! . . Nothing’s really changed; just the COLLAR SIZE.

Charles Henry

Tory proposals to take middle England homes out of inheritance tax will benefit tens of thousands of West families, the party claimed yesterday.

The headline-grabbing tax-cutting plans were unveiled at the party’s Blackpool conference, as leader David Cameron put his troops on election footing.

He said there was a “better than 50 per cent” chance of a snap autumn poll, as the Tories unveiled proposals that will boost its heartlands.

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne won applause from delegates when he said estates worth less than £1 million should not be liable to inheritance tax.

He also confirmed a promise to exempt from stamp duty houses for first-time buyers sold for less than £250,000.

Conservatives wanted to help “people whose only crime in the eyes of the taxman is that instead of spending their savings on themselves they want to pass something on to their families", he said.

“The next Conservative government will raise the inheritance tax threshold to £1 million. That means we will take the family home out of inheritance tax.”

Inheritance tax is paid at 40 per cent on all assets over £300,000, and raises £4 billion a year.

Former Cabinet Minister John Redwood had suggested scrapping it completely, and while the Tories have not gone that far, it will be seen as an attempt to shore up their core vote in the crucial West election battleground.

Some two million homes are valued at more than £300,000, and the average house in the West is worth £211,418, after rising 63 per cent over five years.

The average detached home in the region is valued at £353,138, putting owners well above the IHT threshold. The average house price in Cirencester - the region’s most expensive town - is £304,023.

The Tories say people whose homes are worth more than £208,000 will gain from their scheme, as average household wealth is £92,000, excluding property.

Mr Osborne said the inheritance tax and stamp duty measures would be paid for by a yearly charge of £25,000 on business people who register abroad for tax reasons.

The move against so-called ‘non-doms’ cleverly stole a march on Gordon Brown, who has been criticised for failing to close the tax loophole for the very rich, despite a five-year ‘review’.

Mr Cameron denied the tax proposals were a sop to party hardliners, saying: “There’s nothing lurching to the right about helping people with their aspirations.”

He insisted the next General Election was “wide open” - even though the Tories are behind in the polls.

“I think in our country people have not yet made up their minds how to vote in a General Election,” he said.

Chancellor Alistair Darling said: “Yet again, this is an example of where the Tories are making promises on tax which they can’t afford to pay for.”

He said the £25,000 charge would only raise a fraction of what the Tories had said, leaving a £2.9 billion “gaping black hole” in the proposals.

“He is making a promise he hasn’t got the money to pay for.”

Mr Darling said 96 per cent of estates currently pay no inheritance tax.

Because very few people in the North will benefit from the flagship inheritance tax cut, critics claimed the Tories are abandoning voters there.

Isn’t it strange Editor. . With this government there is always money for socialists like John Prescott to retire in luxury; and for new immigrants with 5 children and no husband to be housed and kept in a manner many of our hard working indigenous population can only dream about. . . And the statement “. . very few people in the North will benefit . . “. . Get Real Mr.Darling! . . We are being talked down to by Socialists who have all made themselves Multi Millionaires!

A funny thing also. . . It seems ‘Middle England’ is now only 4 percent of the population according to Mr. Darling. . And he’s accusing the Tories of not doing their ’sums’ properly! . . Doesn’t this just go to prove how the Labour Party was trying to STEAL everyone’s HOME! . And will do if they remain in power. . ‘The Wealth Tax Stealth Tax’ no less.

Charles Henry

Western Daily Press. . . Features/Letters

As an ex-Liberal Democrat member, I find it sad to see my former party in meltdown.

Locally, in the West Wiltshire area, they continue to follow policies such as building on children’s play areas and cutting back on local recycling centres.

In Bristol, they faced a big backlash at the last elections as they tried to privatise the home care service.

On the national scene, they are being led by Ming Campbell, who is a nice man, but non-effective. It would seem to me that their only way back would be to bring back Charles Kennedy. It is not too late for them to swallow their pride.

Cllr Terry Chivers
Melksham
Wiltshire

Editor, . .With so much ‘cross-dressing’ going on in modern politics it’s easy to see how Cllr. Terry Chivers became so disillusioned with the Liberal-Democrats. . . In truth it was only their temporary growth; combined with ‘Europe’ that has caused so much trouble for the Conservative Party and allowed the Labour Party to grab ‘The Good Times’ and gain so much credibility. . . Only now is everyone beginning to see the real ‘cost’. . . Maybe it’s now time for all sensible people to leave that party to the original ‘lentil-eaters’ and to return to their ‘natural home’. . . We are unlikely to ever return to the days of ‘hangers & floggers’; they were different times; but it is now a time that all ‘right-thinking’ people need to join as one, to tackle the enormous problems the world now faces.

Charles Henry

I know you have differences with your brother ‘Errol’, but I don’t think that would be fair on either of them. . . We musn’t give up on him.

. . Charles Henry 1945-(diuturnity)

Western Daily Press. . . Letters. 1st. October

Radio Bristol’s managing editor Tim Pemberton has answered the question asked of him regarding listening figures, confirming an increase of 11,000, and it is becoming tedious to keep reading letters of criticism against this radio station. It is peculiar that many of those who have complained seem to be very aware of all the presenters who have recently been fronting the various daily shows, particularly the breakfast programme since John Turner’s well-earned but unpopular retirement!

In answer to A Perry’s moan, I believe few people have been committed to their promise to “move away to another station", as many of the groaners seem far too familiar with the various guest presenters.

It is amazing that those who claim not to listen have so much to say on the subject.

I have not changed my listening habits and am very happy to continue tuning in to informative Radio Bristol in the mornings, until midday, to avoid commercial stations like GWR and the monotonous tones of Radio 2’s Sarah Kennedy and Terry Wogan.

For the record, my favourite stand-in presenter to date was Andrew Easton who interviews people the way I would like to do it!

Annette Hennessy

What should be being asked is where Tim Pemberton gets his ‘listener figures’ from. . . It is the same place that the BBC get their figures for Opinion Polls I suspect. . . I know one thing for sure! . . The demand for my ‘tablets’ has reduced considerably since John Turner Retired. . . And him an Old Age Pensioner now. . Who’d have believed it?

Charles Henry

Western Daily Press. . Features/Letters

How can Scottish MPs, Chancellor Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown have authority over the Bank of England and the Treasury to support a private institution which, at least, has been slightly exposed in its dealings?

Surely their jurisdiction should be in the country that elected them and that is the Bank of Scotland.

Without thinking of the consequences, Chancellor Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown announce the guarantee of savings up to £100,000, so anyone who is fortunate (I am not) to have so much, then I suggest you open up as many accounts not exceeding this amount.

So, if there is a run on the banks, firstly, you will be entitled to all your savings, but secondly, it could bankrupt the Bank of England or Treasury.

Well done

Alan Sutton
Dawlish,
Devon

Editor, . . I don’t believe Alan Sutton should confuse the authority of the Bank of England within the United Kingdom, with either the retail Banks of Bank of Scotland or the Royal Bank of Scotland. . Indeed I do not believe Scottish Bank notes are strictly legal tender, just commonly accepted promissory notes. . However I share his concerns with the powers now exerted over the English by Scottish MPs. . New-Labour has made a complete hash of the ‘Midlothian Question’ when giving separate powers to Welsh and Scottish MPs since they were ‘dazzled’ by the ‘promise of good fortune’ as independent States within Europe. . . Of course we are still the mugs who will be paying for it all.

Charles Henry