Monday's Letters: Ten years too late, Blair admits his countryside blunders

I know it is too late – 10 years too late – but I gained great satisfaction from reading extracts from his memoirs in the press.

Apparently, his dear friend George Bush chided him for making an enemy of the countryside by picking a fight with the hunting community. Blair now says the hunting bill was one of his biggest regrets and admits he did not know enough about the debate.

Amen to that.

From: David Atkinson, Chapel Street, Hillam, Leeds.

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From: Peter R Hyde, Driffield, East Yorkshire.

What wonderful free publicity you and all the other newspapers are giving Tony Blair. His book will never find its way into my home as I am a lover of non-fiction.

Blair has used his position as a Prime Minister solely to make millions by giving lectures and writing his memoirs.

I fail to understand why newspapers should give him such massive coverage other than to indulge the public in salacious gossip.

From: Ken Holmes, Cliffe Common, Selby, York.

I SINCERELY hope that Tony Blair's book A Journey ends its journey in a bargain bucket in the corner of a supermarket, two for the

price of one, 10 bob for the price of the pair and over-priced at that.

From: Malcolm Hanson, Bachelor Road, Harrogate.

CAN someone please explain why the media is giving so much free publicity to Tony Blair and his so-called autobiography?

From: Alan Carcas, Cornmill Lane, Liversedge, West Yorkshire.

FORGET all the recriminations, the self-justification, the back-biting, and the hatred, around Brown and Blair; that has always been par for the course in the Labour Party. There is only one question that should be uppermost in everybody's mind. How did two such flawed, almost dysfunctional people, get to the top of our government, let alone the top of the Labour Party?

From: Coun Nader Fekri (Lib Dem, Calder Ward, Calderdale MBC), Hope Street, Hebden Bridge.

GRACIOUS though the gesture of offering the proceeds from his book to the Royal British Legion was, one really must question Tony Blair's moral compass, to apologise for banning fox hunting but not

the invasion of Iraq (and its subsequent horrors) is truly perverse. This is what happens when politicians allow the absolute certainty of religious faith to govern their actions.

Ironically, the only words that come to mind are those of Oliver Cromwell's to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1650: "I beseech you in the bowels of Christ think that you may

be mistaken."

BBC has key role in TV's digital future

From: T Scaife, Manor Drive, York.

NEXT time you sit staring at the goggle box wondering who dreams up such a turgid diet of reality TV mixed into an obsessive vortex of violence and crude comedy, spare a thought for the concept of digital television.

No, not the endless carousel of repeats on the oddly named channels that pretend to be digital. Apart from Aunty Beeb, many even synchronise adverts preventing escape from the incessant messages of sponsors.

As you fall asleep stupefied into temporary coma by certain trash that programme creators call entertainment, you may perchance dream of how it could be.

What do we really want from digital television? Choice of course, diversity, original content and style.

The Beeb dominates the landscape of British television, a colossus among pygmies with an excellent record of original programming. But it also stymies the growth of digital TV. To galvanise televisual competition in the digital market the Beeb could be cleaved in two. One half responsible for original quality programme production. The other half and half the licence fee given over to new independent digital stations.

These would purchase a percentage of original BBC production content and selections from home grown film and creative companies. They would produce their own news and current affairs shows.

Each digital station would have unique programming scheduling with zero adverts. Channel hopping would be transformed with proper competition from varied, quality digital television output.

Something is needed to stop the inevitability of even more pretend "digital"channels named Tom, Dick and Harry or whatever, full of rotating repeats and endless advertising.

As things now stand, "digital" TV may as well rent out DVDs

of their oft-repeated mainly BBC shows.

Exams that failed test

From: Alexander Ogilvy, East Parade, Heworth, York.

AS widely reported, exam passes have increased for the umpteenth year in succession.

It must, however, surely be easier to pass if course work, aided by teachers, is included in exam marks totals (providing up to 30 per cent of the marks).

The pupils or students were indeed "better prepared". No wonder the pass rates were so high – how could anyone fail?

If the much-maligned Education Minister and his team can restore some honesty and sense of purpose to education and the examination system, they will have done future generations of children a great service.

Cuts may aid justice

From: Don Burslam, Elm Road, Dewsbury Moor, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.

RECENTLY, a pattern has emerged with letters stating that the writer accepts that cuts are necessary but the particular economy proposed will probably mean the end of civilisation as we know it.

To take one example, the closure of magistrates' courts; the arguments against seem to me to have little force. To have justice dispensed in another town a few miles away hardly seems to me to compromise

the proper administration of the system.

I am not, and never have been, a JP, but I understand there is supposed to be a common tariff for offences and wherever the case is heard, the bench will have the record of the accused before them so what's the problem?

I would go further. One notorious problem with our system is the disparity in sentencing in different areas.

A certain amount of centralisation of the courts might lead to greater uniformity in this respect.

Perhaps there is an element of self-interest in this tidal wave

of protest.

More Euro taxes feared

From: Barbara Stark, Ridgestone Avenue, Bilton, Hull.

WATCH out folks, an EU tax is on the cards. EU Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski is working diligently on a way to extract even more money out of hard-pressed citizens of Europe. I'm sure that it will not be a direct tax labelled "The EU Tax", but an invisible one, probably with an obscure fancy name.

The areas being examined are a carbon tax, a travel tax, a tourism tax or a financial transaction tax. Does this mean a tax on all our humble bank account transactions or a tax on the big City movers and shakers?

Whatever the decision, it's more money for the coffers of the Commission, which wants a 7.6 per cent increase by 2013. Such an increase would mean that the British yearly contribution to the EU will rise over the next three years to 10.3bn by 2013.

BT draws the line at giving a service to customers

From: Terry Duncan, Greame Road, Bridlington, East Yorkshire.

FOR years now, I have been paying BT a quarterly bill for the telephone line they supply to my house. I have a BT telephone number.

So, it was to my surprise the other day that I had to telephone BT because I thought there was a fault on my telephone system.

I went through the usual system, now used by companies, of being instructed to press a button if I wanted a particular service, then another to narrow down my problem and a further button to get me to my destination.

The last move asked me to enter my phone number. Back came the reply – this is not a BT number. I thought I had mis-entered the number so I tried two more times, still getting denials I was a BT customer, the same BT to which I pay more that 37 every quarter.

I phoned directory enquiries and, after a bit of hassle, I was told I was not rated a BT customer as my calls were billed by the company which supplies my internet and phone calls. Explaining that I paid BT for the line broke no ice. I was not a BT customer.

So beware everyone, don't rely on BT to sort you out, if you use another service for your calls, even though you pay BT for the line.

There is no direct repair service available for the hundreds of pounds they glean from every household annually.

I was told to contact my server. And lo and behold, what did the latter tell me? "We will have to contact the engineers at your local BT exchange to track down and fix the fault if one shows up."

A very difficult telephone to tap

From: AW Clarke, Wold Croft, Sutton on Derwent.

LISTENING to Lord Prescott on the radio, I think he was complaining that his telephone calls had been tapped by unscrupulous members of the media.

All I can say is I wish them luck in deciphering his side of conversations. I suggest that it would take the entire listening force of Cheltenham to ascertain his side of any discussion.

Incidentally, since he decided to shelve his long held

principles and allowed himself to accept a life peerage, am I mistaken or are we hearing even more of his incoherent ramblings on TV and radio?

Expensive line of action

From: Lynne Ware, Woodcot Avenue, Baildon, Shipley.

SARAH Freeman writes that protesters at Menwith Hill contesting the "legality of the yellow line which divides the base from the protesters has become the stuff of countless court hearings" (Yorkshire Post, September 2).

May I enquire how much Lindis Percy's exploits are costing British taxpayers?

Over the border

From: Iain Morris, Caroline Street, Saltaire, Shipley, West Yorkshire.

WITH regard to a daughter being born to David and Samantha Cameron while on holiday in Cornwall, when staying with my brother in that part of the world (he was a Royal Navy officer), it is generally regarded that the England border starts at Devon.