Who is whiter that white over the truth?

THE revelation that the police in the Andrew Mitchell affair may have distorted the truth is distressing because the vast majority of our police force are hardworking and honest – unfortunately there are some bad apples in every walk of life, be it those fat cats at the top or those scraping a living at the bottom of society, and there always will be.

It appears to me that the police seem to be under attack from all sides, including the Government who are reducing the number of officers on our streets and motorways, and thus putting additional stress on already stretched resources.

However, a fair amount of criticism comes from those who have had a brush with the law and take every opportunity to hit back, unjustly in most cases with the media leaping on the bandwagon in search of a story.

Admittedly there are those in the force who are jobsworths and obviously do not have the people-skills required, and mistakes have been made over the years, but we have to move on and this country is lucky to have the kind of policing we have.

How many of you reading this letter would volunteer to wade in amongst a bunch of drunken louts with fists flying? How many would like to have to face a mixed race riot with petrol bombs and bricks being thrown at you? How many of you would like to sort out the mayhem of a fatality in a road accident? How many of you would like to be the one to tell a family that their loved one has been knifed to death or killed in an accident? Not many I think!

Our security and peace of mind is down to officers who have to cope with anything at sort notice – and we ought to be mindful of that when the odd mistake happens. Furthermore, we ought to be mindful that even our politicians are not whiter than white when it comes to telling 
the truth!

Happiness and expectations

From: Peter Hyde, Driffield, East Yorkshire.

IT was 9.15 on a rainy Saturday morning and we still had the lights on.

My wife and I discussed going out for the day but where can you go on a day like this?

We were both pretty fed up then I read Ian McMillan’s page out loud to my wife.

We both finished up roaring with laughter as we both recalled memories of our pre-war and wartime childhood. Visits to Hull Market. Carvers’ fish and chips. Our mothers’ button tins, which we still have. Mum’s corsets, which we don’t have. Darning mushroom and all the rest.

My Mum was a great repairer of clothes and I always feared I would have an accident and be taken to hospital with my lint-patched underpants.

We were poor but I am sure we were a whole lot happier because our expectations were a whole lot lower.

Keep up the good work Ian, making us laugh at memories of long ago.

Of service 
to nobody

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

HILARY Andrews (Yorkshire Post, October 15) and her suggestion to bring back National Service is of course not new.

I can speak from personal experience so I am more qualified than most to express an opinion. Looking back on my two years in the RAF, I think I came out more mature and confident, at least I hope so.

That however is really beside the point.

The fact is I was forced to interrupt my career in the Civil Service for two years and my income was drastically reduced although I worked full time.

National Service is undoubtedly a serious intrusion on the freedom of the individual and I would support it only if the nation were in mortal peril. That was not the case when I was called up and I venture to say it was a considerable and unnecessary inconvenience.

I would no more wish it on the rising generation than workfare.

Builders need skilled staff

From: Steve Housden, Sector Strategy Manager for CITB in Yorkshire & Humberside.

THE Government’s Help to Buy scheme is certainly welcome news for the construction industry and for the local area.

We hope that the roll out of the scheme will help to increase demand for new homes in Yorkshire.

However, we also need to ensure we have the right skills in place to meet a spike in demand.

The challenge facing the local industry is highlighted in the recent Home Building Skills Report.

The report has found that 45 per cent of house building contractors believe that more needs to be done to ensure that the sector’s workforce has the necessary attributes to meet mounting workloads.

Acting on this analysis, CITB will continue to support the sector in delivering gold standard apprenticeships and qualifications that meet the needs of a hi-tech, world class industry with outstanding career prospects.

We believe working to boost skills now will pay dividends in the short, medium and long terms.