Saturday's letters: It's about time we had a clampdown on the wheelclampers

WHAT does it take for a clampdown on the clampers? Some 20 years

ago in Haworth, I suffered the same fate that hundreds, perhaps thousands have before and since, many victims promising never to

visit the village again. Over-zealous wheel clamping has been Haworth's Achilles heel for aeons.

It's not long since that Anne Cryer, then MP for Keighley area, including Haworth promised to change things, following Betty Boothroyd's "capture". But other than a clampers' registration and licensing scheme, it would appear that nothing has changed.

Now we read (Yorkshire Post, June 17) that it's also the misfortune of Hull and Doncaster; so we have the ex-Minister for Yorkshire, Rosie Winterton plugging for regulatory action against companies that care

nothing for their customers – vehicle owners using car

parks. We should ask why it's taken her until she's out of office to seek some action. Nice try politicians, but will it happen?

Given that these car park owners are providing a service, then a condition of licenced national registration should be an achievement of the Customer First award, followed by faithful maintenance of its standards.

Let's then see how many clampers can provide full and complete evidence of implementing high quality customer care and customer service policies.

Another test for this new-style government is to take up Rosie Winterton's plea and look after us forlorn drivers and parkers.

From: EM Bird, Redmires Road, Sheffield.

I READ your article on the unfortunate experience of Mr Denville Longhurst (Yorkshire Post, June 8) when he had his car clamped in Haworth, and his resolve never to visit that location again. Approximately 20 years ago, I made a similar resolution.

I parked my car in the car park managed by the same

firm Car Stoppers, at that time the 20p piece was in the process of changing in size. Most people had by then the new smaller coin.

However, the Car Stoppers had a meter which only accepted the old larger coins.

My wife and I were unable to find anyone who was able to change our new

smaller coin and no one from Car Stoppers was about. We eventually

managed to scrape enough of the old 20p pieces together to pay for one hour of parking thus cutting our visit short. We arrived back at the car park 10 minutes late, to find our car had been clamped.

We asked the man who had clamped the car why he had not been around when we arrived. He did not reply to our question. He just demanded 20 to release our car. I wrote to Car Stoppers explaining the situation. They did not give me a satisfactory reply. I wrote to the then Yorkshire Tourist Board who sent me a letter full of platitudes.

Since then, I have never returned to Haworth and never will, while the company Car Stoppers is allowed to operate.

Every year we are visited by a number of people from Belgium. We take them all over Yorkshire and Derbyshire and further afield, but never Haworth and we explain to them the reason why.

From: Mrs Mary Owen, Derbyshire Lane, Sheffield.

I AM sure that everybody will agree with the MP for Doncaster, and former Minister for Yorkshire, Rosie Winterton, that wheeclampers are a menace and need to brought to book. She writes that she has been aware of the problems they cause for some 14 years.

Am I alone in wondering why Ms Winterton forcefully urges the new Government to act, when she and her Labour colleagues did nothing to address the issue while in office for 13 years?

From: John Jenkins, Oxford Road, Guiseley.

WITH regard to Rosie Winterton's article on wheelclamping, it is clear, from her piece, that there are already a myriad of regulations covering this issue. We don't need more laws – just better laws.

Hypocrisy of Obama and US over leak

From: Tom Scaife, Manor Drive, York.

US President Barack Obama's personal chastisement of BP over the tragic accident and continuing oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, does him and the US no favours. For as representative of the greatest capitalist powerhouse in the world, President Obama also shows great hypocrisy. On December 3, 1984, at the US owned Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal India, there was also a leak. Not of oil but deadly toxins including methyl isocyanate. Some 15,000 people are estimated to have died and more than 500,000 exposed to the toxins.

Take note of the numbers of people affected in the two tragedies, then compare the $20bn Mr Obama has arm-twisted from BP and the measly $470m, yes million not billion, awarded to the Bhopal victims. This derisory compensation has taken decades to obtain from the tight-fisted US. The BP escrow compensation agreement has taken only days.

Yet the drive for mineral wealth and energy continues unabated to feed the ravenous capitalist furnace. The US consuming a quarter of the world's oil reserves.

Now we hear that Afghanistan has one trillion dollars of mineral wealth waiting to be mined. Will Afghanistan receive the lion's share of the profits? Will the workers be paid western wages and benefits? I doubt it.

It will be global companies digging out the resources and ravaging the countryside of Afghanistan. Just as they often do in the world's oceans and other countries such as Africa and India. If Mr Obama wants credibility to sing from the song sheet of morality, I suggest he arm-twists US companies to pay equal dues and compensation to all sources of US corporate and Federal profit.

From: Ross Taggart, The Avenue, Eaglescliffe, Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland.

SOME 25 years ago, an escape of cyanide gas from an American-owned industrial plant in India killed many thousands and permanently destroyed the health of hundreds of thousands of some of the poorest people on earth. Since that time, they have been subjected to disgraceful and cynical treatment at the hands of both the Indian authorities and the American firm involved – Union Carbide.

My suggestion is this: as a punishment for damaging the ecology of the Gulf of Mexico region, huge financial penalties are imposed on BP by the Americans (as they almost certainly will), then BP should pay without demur on the understanding that the money be paid immediately into a trust fund, set up with the sole object of relieving the continuing suffering some 500,000 survivors of the disaster in Bhopal.

I believe such an arrangement would relieve an immensity of suffering, avoid much political ill-will and give the American nation an opportunity to show the world what sort of people they are.

From: Dr David Hill, executive director, World Innovation Foundation Charity, Huddersfield.

WHILE BP acts as the "whipping boy" of Nobel Laureate Barack Obama, why is it that the bankers have not been brought to book in the same manner?

Although BP are being made to pay a $20bn first installment fund for the environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, why is that the bankers are let off scot-free? Indeed, according to the World Bank, global bank losses have amounted to $2.26 trillion and where the dire effects on personal wealth loss of the financial meltdown on people across the world is in excess of $6 trillion and counting, why is it that the banks and bankers are not being treated likewise to that of BP?

From: Ian Dewar, Thompson Drive, Middleton on the Wolds.

LIKE everyone else, I viewed the unfolding disaster affecting the peoples and wildlife of those areas hit by the seemingly unstoppable oil spill of the American coast with regret and despair. The environmental toll there will last for decades; and bring extreme hardship to many.

The region's natural inhabitants, including several rare examples of bird and marine life, may never recover and as a consequence be lost for all time?

Nonetheless, until the reasons for this disaster are clear, the sight and sound of an inexperienced American President, venting his frustrations on the international conglomerate trading as BP and its individual executives; and threatening to "kick ass", does nothing but belittle the high office he holds.

There will be "an accounting" for all this, but it will only be when the facts are known and blame, if any, properly attributed; but not used to shore up the dwindling popularity of the newest leader of the free world.

Obama, for all his posturing, has no love of this country and Prime Minister Cameron is right to urge caution against the anti-British rhetoric being used to undermine the standing of BP.

Taking issue with the President over his recent comments may not be on the official agenda of his forthcoming visit to Washington; but the Prime Minister would be doing this country a great service if that was to be included.

From: Mrs Lucy E Beaumont, Marsh Lane, Shepley, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

THE present Government's role in dealing with oil disaster has been to behave like an American lapdog. They should immediately summon the American Ambassador to the Foreign Office to inform him that Mr Obama's behaviour is unacceptable. Inform him that British forces will conduct an orderly withdrawal from Afghanistan and will be gone by Christmas.

Any seizure of British assets in America will meet with a reciprocal response in Britain. The Ambassador should be told that he and his senior staff should leave immediately.

We oppose this war, but admire our brave soldiers

From: David T Craggs, Tunstall, East Yorkshire.

IT always amazes me that our political masters do not have their fingers on the nation's pulse when it come to our position in Afghanistan.

Gordon Brown didn't and now we see, based on his comments to our soldiers, David Cameron doesn't either (Yorkshire Post, June 14). They seem incapable of understanding that it is possible to be totally against the war in Afghanistan, as I and I suspect millions of others in this country are, and at the same time have the utmost admiration for our soldiers in the job they've been asked to do. We admire their bravery, professionalism and total commitment, and we feel it deeply when they lose their lives, more so I suspect than those faceless individuals who sent them into war.

Our soldiers should not need constantly reminding of our total respect for them.

From: Arthur Quarmby, Holme, Holmfirth.

DAVID Cameron confirms that our troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan as soon as their government is capable of taking control of the country.

But with the news that security forces in Pakistan are succouring and supporting the Taliban, will that time ever come? Or following the supposed logic, will the war have to be extended into Pakistan?