Real blame for fiasco over Abu Qatada

WITH reference to Barrie Frost’s letter (Yorkshire Post, April 6) on the failure to deport Abu Qatada, I can understand his anger and sympathise with him and agree with his sentiments entirely. There are some plonkers in the judiciary who are anything but judicious, but Mr Frost is blaming the wrong people.

The judges can’t deport criminals or dangerous people if it is considered to be against their human rights as laid down by the EU law.

I am afraid that if you voted Labour, Liberal Democrat or Conservative in the past elections you are partly to blame for the situation as these three parties 
are all fully committed to the EU and all want complete integration and exclusive control from Brussels.

If you want to help to stop the lunacy vote for the party which will free our country from the EU – Ukip.

Personally, I would put Abu Qatada on a plane back home and take the flak afterwards or alternatively ask the Americans or Israel to do us a favour, please.

Teachers’ workload

From Sue Cuthbert, Newton on Rawcliffe.

JOHN Watson’s letter concerning teachers working hours and conditions (Yorkshire Post, April 8) once again demonstrates a complete lack of knowledge of what teaching nowadays is about.

His is a typical idea of people who “know all about the profession” because they were once at school.

I was also at school during the 1940s and 50s, but I don’t recall any teacher teaching over 40 hours per week as Mr Watson states. In my secondary school, we pupils hardly ever dared to knock on the staff room door during the teachers’ lunch break.

How do I know these things? I taught for over 25 years in three very different comprehensive schools,one of which was an inner city school in Wolverhampton. This was very challenging, but the staff there cared about pupils and did their best for them.

Cutting response

From: MP Laycock, Wheatlands Road East, Harrogate.

COUNCILLOR Fekri (Yorkshire Post, March 28) follows his party leader in attacking George Osborne for cutting the top rate of income tax to 45 per cent.

They both fail to mention 
that their Government kept that rate at 40 per cent per cent for nearly 13 years before raising it to 50 per cent in their last month in office to set a trap for their successors.

If Labour are sincere in their criticism of George Osborne’s cut in the top rate of income tax to 40 per cent, should they not first apologise for leaving it at 40 per cent from 1997 to 2010?

Spoil sports
go into action

From: Annie Painter, Spring Lane, Crofton.

THE other day we visited York and spent a lovely day at the dungeons, Bettys and the gardens. On our return, we happened to walk past Clifford’s Tower where young children were climbing up and down the mound laughing.

We then heard a middle-aged woman with man and child shouting at the children to “get off there, have some respect, can’t you read,” at which point the children looked, ignored her and continued with their fun. We saw her then commandeer two policemen and presumed she was telling them of this terrible crime.

I regret not saying anything at the time but I should have backed her up and shouted, “yes, get back to your XBoxes. Where are your mobile phones? Why aren’t you sitting and texting alone instead of running up and down there in the fresh air, enjoying the freedom together?”

Needless to say the policemen walked the other way but when we went past on our bus the children had gone. Who needs the Pied Piper, eh?

Warming taste of sun

From: Brian Waddington, Terry Avenue, York.

THE article on the village shop at Marton cum Grafton indicated that much of its success was due to the local sourcing of produce (Yorkshire Post, April 5).

The list started with champagne, wines and olives. Great, I thought, global warming has finally come to Yorkshire and Shangri-la exists in a fold deep in the Pennines!

Sadly, on reading further, I discovered that these particular items were actually only supplied by a Yorkshire firm. On reflection, I realised that after the weather of the last three years global warming as a concept is now very old hat and has been subsumed into climate change.

This catch-all phrase caters for all varieties of weather and still enables us to blame someone whatever occurs.