Out-of-touch judges in need of reform

From: Barrie Frost, Watson’s Lane, Reighton, Filey.

IN the last few years bankers have destroyed the industry’s reputation through their own very dubious behaviour. Many people believe criminal charges must be considered for those responsible instead of simply allowing golden handshakes and mind-boggling pensions.

The days of Mr Mainwaring in the comedy fiction Dad’s Army now belong in the past, indeed there are many bank customers who don’t even know their bank manager or how to contact him should they wish to do so. It now appears that the judiciary, or some members of it, are travelling the same highway, believing they are a superior species unaccountable to anyone and unconcerned about the safety and welfare of “little” people.

Consider the following recent incidents:

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A Sheffield asylum seeker, Bernard Mboueyeu, has been ordered to be deported to Cameroon, but is in hospital after drinking cleaning fluid in an attempted suicide, as he fears for his safety if such deportation is carried out. He is married to a Sheffield girl, is in work as a journalist and is not a criminal.

Contrast this case with that of the Sudanese asylum seeker, Sani Adil Ali. This horrible excuse for a human being was jailed for raping a 12-year-old girl and when he was sentenced the judge described him as “a potential danger to young girls”. He was ordered to be deported.

Now step forward Judge Jonathan Perkins who has ruled, following a legal aid funded appeal, I presume, that this creature cannot be deported as this would infringe his human rights.

The future safety of young British girls is, apparently, of much lesser importance to Judge Jonathan Perkins than this criminal’s human rights.

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Much time and publicity has been given to the reform of the House of Lords by both the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister. The Lords must be made more democratic, they argue, with around 80 per cent of members elected by the public. Rather hypocritical when these two people failed, respectively, to demonstrate democracy and honour their election pledges on a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty and that there would be no increase in student fees.

Wouldn’t it be far more beneficial to all of us if we left the House of Lords alone and instead reformed our judiciary?

Drawn in to another conflict

From: Arthur Quarmby, Holme, Holmfirth.

WILLIAM Hague’s flying visit to Syrian refugees in Jordan near the Syrian border is confirmation – if any were needed – that our government is itching to send troops into the Syrian civil war, being convinced that the rebels in this conflict are right and that the Syrian government, despite Russian support, is wrong.

Surely by now we can see 
that Western involvement in Middle Eastern squabbles 
does more harm than good, 
and that the peoples of 
these regions should be left 
alone to settle their own grievances?

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Is Iraq any better since the war? Is Libya improved, or Tunisia, or Egypt? Let us stay out of these entanglements!

From: Peter Hyde, Kendale View, Driffield.

THE situation in Syria is absolutely terrible and could be resolved if Russia and China would merely say “stop” to President Assad. They are reluctant to do so because they sell arms to the regime.

As and when they decide that there is no longer a profit to be made, they will abandon Assad, but by then many more will be killed and the country, apart from oil, not worth ruling.

Transport bill for taxpayers

From; Peter Horton, The Association of British Drivers, Sandy Lane, Ripon.

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From the reports of the devolution of powers from London to the regions
 (Yorkshire Post, July 6) I 
was horrified to read the small item headed “£1bn drive to ease journeys” which says 
that the £1bn West Yorkshire “Plus” transport fund will be raised by increases in local Council Tax with the aim of reducing journey times and bottlenecks.

Council Tax is already at unaffordable levels and is a 
severe imposition upon pensioners and low income families, and further increases 
of this sort are quite 
intolerable.

This is another dodge by government to offload its responsibility for transport improvements on to local councils.

Meanwhile, the coalition government continues to rake 
in some £50bn a year in 
motoring taxation, which is hardly alleviated by postponing 
a planned further imposition 
of 3p a litre on petrol and 
diesel.

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It seems only fair that 
some of this vast income 
should be devoted towards 
local transport improvements, not least towards essential 
repairs to our crumbling 
road surfaces, rather than abandoning their 
responsibilities and 
encouraging councils to bleed 
yet more money out of hard-pressed citizens to fund expenditure that motorists 
have already paid for several times over.

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