Sponsored by
We can restore ancient liberties when the threat has gone
From: Douglas Hartley, Irving Terrace, Clayton, Bradford.
I RESPECT David Davis's stand, but disagree with him. During the Second World War, national security required certain liberties to be suspended. Some people, of doubtful loyalty, were incarcerated. In peacetime, liberty was restored.
It seems to me that war has been declared against this country. I read of terrorist cells, dispersed, but no doubt linked one with another, and all in contact with an extremist headquarters by sophisticated technological means of communication. These are ruthless persons, believing it God's will that they should blow themselves up to achieve maximum destruction and loss of life. Even children are being trained in this belief.
Tracing them, identifying individuals and establishing their guilt must be difficult. Security organisations do not speak out for fear of compromising their sources of information; but some high-ranking police officers, and, as Bernard Dineen points out (Yorkshire Post, June 16), Lord Carlile QC, an independent reviewer of terror legislation, have called for more time.
Ironically, some of those (not Davis) who "bang on" about the loss of our ancient liberties would be ready to accept harmonisation of European law under what is likely to become the Lisbon Treaty Mark II, with amendment clauses and further removal of national vetoes.
In 1997, a closed conference, sponsored by the European Commission and attended by the President of the European Parliament, received a text drafted by EU legal experts. This was Corpus Juris, a Napoleonic system of justice which will one day overshadow the entire coming European empire.
David Davis (Yorkshire Post, June 13), refers to the signing of Magna Carta, which guarantees "the most fundamental of British freedoms, habeas corpus: the right not to be imprisoned for prolonged periods by the State without being told the charge against you".
Under Corpus Juris, that right will be lost. Our ancient separation of the judiciary from the State will end.
The European Court of Justice has a political agenda – the furtherance of integration in the Union.
The right to trial by jury, which Davis upholds, and the presumption of innocence – neither will feature in this Napoleonic law.
Let us not "bang on," but hang on to our ancient liberties, in defiance of EU designs, even though temporary suspension of some liberties, with legal safeguards, may be required for national security's sake. Let our liberties remain, under Common Law, to be restored when peace returns.
From: A Sealing, Garden Way, Pickering.
I WOULD like to reply to Tom Richmond's article with regard to David Davis (Yorkshire Post, June 14), who, unlike Mr Richmond, has made a stand and stated the things that have gone wrong in our country since joining the EU.
I agree with him, but he finds out he cannot alter anything without stating what he believes is wrong and so demanding an election to let the people decide whether he is right.
It all comes down to the question to have a referendum not only on the Lisbon Treaty but also whether to leave the EU which was why UKIP was formed, but the people of this country are not allowed to have their say except people like David Davis.
From: Terry Palmer, South Lea Avenue, Hoyland, Barnsley.
AN after-thought regarding piqued Tory David Davis's re-election fight against himself. I would like to know who is paying the 80,000 election fee for this stunt of his ?
Surely he doesn't expect the taxpayer to waste good money on this whim of his, does he ?
A return ticket to wasting public money
From: Robert H Foster, Winterburn Grange, near Skipton.
THE proposed re-opening of the railway line between Skipton and Colne, upon which you reported in your magazine (Yorkshire Post,
June 14), is potentially a monumental waste of public funds.
The line was closed in January 1970, by none other than Barbara Castle, then MP for Blackburn. Trains at that time were almost deserted, and it is wishful thinking now to expect that people in Yorkshire would drive to Keighley or Skipton find a parking space, and then take a train to Colne, Burnley, Preston or Manchester, all of which places would be reachable very much more quickly and cheaply, by road.
A train from Colne to Manchester takes one hour 40 minutes. Colne to Manchester airport by rail is two-and-a-half-hours, with several changes of train. Colne to Preston is one hour 10 minutes. At least 15 minutes would be added to those timings from Skipton and 35 minutes from Keighley (with yet another change of train). Thus train times would be at least twice the comparable times by road even before taking into account time spent in travelling to the station and waiting for a train.
There is no potential rail freight traffic and even if there were, there are two alternative routes, one via Hellifield-Blackburn, and one via Hall Royd Jn (Todmorden)-Gannow Jn (Burnley).
There would be no through rail passenger traffic to speak of, to or from either Leeds or Bradford as they have direct trains over other (much faster) routes to Preston, Blackburn, Manchester and elsewhere.
There are other almost insuperable obstacles. For example, within 500 yards of Skipton North Jn. (as it used to be), Skipton bypass would require to be tunnelled under and the long bridge over the River Aire to be rebuilt. The route is heavily breached at other points.
There would be a small amount of local traffic generated by Earby, but the principal town between Skipton and Colne is Barnoldswick, which was never on the line, having been served by a branch to which the clamour to reopen does not extend.Allow us to make our own mistakes
From: Alan Gill, Ryedale.
ALTHOUGH I am a non-smoker, I absolutely abhor New Labour's crusade against cigarettes and smoking. I know the risks associated with smoking and so make a conscious decision not to do it.
In my view, it is the Government's role to publicise the facts regarding the health issues associated with smoking. The language used when announcing the ban on cigarette vending machines and the sale of tobacco products above the counter shows that the Government is aiming to stop people from smoking, and in my opinion this is wrong.
As long as smokers are aware of the risks, the Government has no responsibility, and more importantly no right, to encourage people to stop smoking via regulations.
Jacqui Smith and her cronies need to remember that behind every statistic is a human being with the ability to judge risks and make their own decision based on their own judgment.
With this argument in mind, where is the justification for keeping other lower risk drugs such as cannabis and mescaline illegal?
The Government should need a concrete argument to keep something illegal, rather than the rest of us needing a concrete reason to have something legalised. And on that note, I would like to congratulate David Davis on his stand against the slow asphyxiation of modern Britain.
Police out in force
From: John Leek,
Hirst Road, Carlton,
Goole.
PEOPLE living near the scene where protesters stopped a train heading for Drax were somewhat bemused by the vast army of police mobilised from distant parts to deal with only 20 protesters.
Were they all really required, or was this incident being used as a training exercise? If the latter, we hope that the considerable cost of this operation will not have to be borne by local taxpayers.
There was also disruption to road traffic, as police closed Hirst Road at the level crossing, requiring drivers to make diversions of up to seven miles.
Since the train was already immobilised by the coal thrown onto the tracks by the protesters, there was little likelihood of any danger to traffic on Hirst Road, over half a mile from the crime scene.
Finally, are we expecting too much in hoping that the full force of the legal system will descend on the eco-warriors, or will it be the usual gentle slap on the wrist, and a really savage sentence of a few hours of community service?
Behind the statistics
From: Michael Gulliver, Ashfield, Sturton by Stow, Lincoln.
YOUR correspondent, E Firth (Yorkshire Post, June 19) states that in the Irish referendum, just one quarter of the people voted against the EU treaty, threequarters did not.
By implication then, less than a quarter of the people voted for the treaty, more than three quarters did not. There are lies, damned lies and statistics.
From: James Wagstaff, Ash Crescent, Leeds.
I HAVE a question for anyone who requests we "respect the Irish vote"
and declare the Lisbon Treaty dead: are you perfectly happy with the EU as it stands, or do you think it needs reforming to make it more democratic and more efficient?
Because the whole point of the Lisbon Treaty was to improve democratic accountability and efficiency in the EU.
I would have thought that Eurosceptics would be the
last people to oppose
reforming the EU, yet they appear to be the ones demanding that nothing changes and that the status
quo is maintained.
From: Ernest Dufton, Sedbusk, Hawes
USING the same reasoning as that of E Firth from Wilsden (Yorkshire Post, June 19) regarding the Irish referendum – even less than one quarter
of people voted for the EU treaty, more than three-quarters did not!
In memory of local hero who stayed true to his roots
From: Andrew Grainger, Beverley.
I WOULD just like to say how saddened I am to hear of the news of David Topliss's death and to pass my condolences to his family.
As a seven-year-old boy, my father took me to my first rugby league matches and showed me there was more to sport than football.
I think it was David Topliss, more than any other player, who caught my eye and thrilled me then and over many great years of, now extinct, loyalty to his club, Wakefield Trinity.
I have so many memories of him ghosting through defences and lighting up my childhood. I also knew of him as a person off the pitch from his days working at Westgate Motors, Wakefield, where my mother was a telephonist and know from her recollections what a good man he was. And the day she took me to meet him, as a little lad, was the thrill of a lifetime for a nine-year-old!
An unfortunate side effect of the modern, full-time professional game is the loss of the local players in the team and the loyalty that many gave.
This was exceptionally so in Toppo's case. He could have left Wakefield many a time in his hey day for the "cheque-bookers"or others, no doubt, but he stood loyal and continued to frighten defences to death in red, white and blue.
He will be sadly missed. God bless you Toppo.
Truth about our fighting
From: M Headland, Rowena Avenue, Edenthorpe, Doncaster.
I FULLY agree with Len Fincham (Yorkshire Post, June 17). We can never impose democracy on a culture such as Afghanistan as a study of their history proves.
Are we fighting alone in Helmand province with the tragic loss of many of our brave soldiers? I understood that our American cousins and also some Canadians are involved in this action. This aspect is completely ignored by our media, including television. When I was in America earlier this year, much broader reporting was evident and I can only wish comprehensive, accurate reporting was given here.
Brown and democracy
From: Patrick Kelly,
Scarcroft Hill, York.
TERRY Barry writes (Yorkshire Post, June 20) that we did not vote for Gordon Brown as our Prime Minister. Well, actually we did. The electorate chose a Labour majority in Parliament last time they were asked and when Labour chose Brown as leader, MPs voted him in as Prime Minister. Since the war, we have had five changes of PM without a popular vote. And that is as it should be. When are people going to realise that we have a Parliamentary system in this country, not a presidential one?
Sickening
From: Ken Holmes, Cliffe Common, Selby, York.
IN my 76 years on this planet, I have seen some sickening sights on television, but none to match the three Bs, Bush, Brown and Blair, patronising and back-slapping one another at every photo shoot opportunity.
Pass the sick bag, Alice.
Email to a friend
Print this page- Leeds lose Ward to Palace: Is there anyone they can afford now?
- Sheffield Wednesday leaving it late to hijack Leeds United over Ward
- As Snodgrass dithers over Leeds, Warnock throws a lifeline
- Ball is in Leeds United’s court over contract - Snodgrass
- Police turning blind eye to Asian voter fraud, says MP
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
