Letters: August 18, 2016

Anonymity is granted only at the discretion of the editor, who also reserves the right to edit letters.

Extremist behind bars

ANJEM Choudary has enjoyed the freedom to express his views on Western thinking, the British way of life and the alleged persecution of Muslims throughout the world.

As a believer in the right of free speech and the inalienable right to express an individual view on any subject whatsoever I have listened to and read many of Mr Choudary’s comments with keen interest.

Sadly, his honeyed tone soon changed to vitriolic anti-Semitic outbursts often accompanied by a call to his followers to subject unbelievers to capital punishment.

Still he managed to stay on the “right side of the law” even if one had to add the word “just”.

Mr Choudary headed up the organisation Islam4UK whose website claimed that Army homecoming parades were “a vile parade of brutal murderers” and who planned a demonstration through the streets of Royal Wootton Bassett to protest at the courtesy extended to repatriated service personnel.

In early 2000 I urged the solicitors’ regulatory body to investigate Mr Choudary and in 2006 I wrote to Michael Wills, then the MP for North Swindon, asking that Mr Choudary’s activities be investigated.

In 2013 Justin Tomlinson raised the subject of Mr Choudary with the Security Minister but, sadly, Anjem Choudary proved difficult to pin down.

In July 2016, Mr Choudary was at last convicted of offences under the Terrorism Act and sentenced to a term of imprisonment.

He was the unacceptable face of extreme Islam – he preached intolerance, racial and religious hatred and promoted violence as the only means to achieve an Islamic State in the UK.

It is to the credit of moderate Muslims on the Muslim Council Of Great Britain that they avowedly disowned Choudary, and to the BBC’s shame that they courted him and gave him so much airtime.

I, for one, am delighted that Mr Choudary is behind bars.

DES MORGAN

Caraway Drive, Swindon

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Viewers counting cost

I AM no fan of our overpaid and underachieving professional footballers.

Far from being a season ticket holder, I have always felt even watching on television actually encourages them.

And it’s not only the £200,000 a week boys in the premiership, the average salary in the Championship is a staggering £325,000 a year.

So imagine my surprise when I found the obscene cost of the battle between BT and Sky for the TV Sports rights is now being passed on to me by British Telecom.

With no notice in April my BT broadband monthly charge went from £7.30 to £19.30 overnight, line rental up to £17.99 a month, Anytime Calls up from £5 to £6.50 a month and 1571 is suddenly a chargeable service after 25 years.

When challenged, BT told me: “It’s not a price increase Mr Stooke, we have only modified your discounts.”

The BT monopoly (via Openreach, a BT company) on conventional and fibre landline is itself a scandal which Parliament should never have permitted.

And it is this which is now being leveraged to pour out our money to fund footballers’ next Lamborghini.

So my advice (and I am no Martin Lewis), is simple: Check what is going on with your BT deal as they do not tell you about price increases – just implement them.

The Americans say, “it’s a no brainer”.

I say you would have to brainless to pick up the tab for the obscene rewards showered on these pampered yet distinctly average sportsmen.

JOHN STOOKE

Haydon End, Swindon

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Let’s hear more voices

IN REGARDS to the cages rattled by Beth, I must say I completely agree with her.

We need some fresh names writing on this page and for months it’s been the same old faces rattling on about Brexit or immigration and it makes for incredibly boring reading.

Contrary to popular belief women do write in to the letters page, although their usually smaller letters tend to be eclipsed by the larger droning letters of some of the more regular writers.

I think I speak for a lot of readers when I say, come on gents, change the subject, and before you all start choking on your custard creams and spitting out your PG Tips, by “gents” I don’t mean the entire male contingent that writes in, just the certain few that keep flogging a dead horse.

There’s so many more interesting things to write about in Swindon alone.

And to the ladies, keep writing in however silly you think the subject is.

To Beth, keep writing in, you make a damn good point and if you don’t want to reveal your last name that’s entirely your choice.

SCARLETT ROSE

Oakhurst, Swindon

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Call for correspondents

I READ Beth’s letter (Too Many Men) August 11, with some interest, as it appears little has changed since my letter (It’s the Write Stuff) appeared on the Adver Letters page in March 2014.

In it I compiled a list of those who contributed letters to the Adver between February 14 and March 14 (25 copies).

Top of the contributors during that period was Bill Williams (nine letters), followed by Des Morgan (seven letters) and CJ Meek with five.

In those 25 copies 174 letters were published of which there were 119 contributors of which 80 per cent of names given were male.

So, Beth, you’re correct in your analysis of contributors to the letters page, but with 50,552 readers of the Adver in print and online very day, we must ask why there aren’t more letter writers to the Adver.

Come on, get writing!

MARTIN WEBB

Swindon Road

Old Town

Swindon

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Future shape of funding

I HAVE welcomed the news that EU funding for farmers, scientists and other projects will be replaced by the Treasury in the period immediately after Brexit.

But farmers still face uncertainty over their future under a different government.

Chancellor Philip Hammond said the Treasury would guarantee to back EU-funded projects signed before this year’s Autumn Statement.

He also gave an assurance that agricultural funding now provided by the EU will also continue until 2020.

There will be relief that Theresa May’s government is taking this step so promptly. It provides continuity and stability and is the right thing to do.

However, it gives us no assurances about the future shape of funding, particularly for the rural economy.

It would be helpful to clarify that the Government will replace both the EU proportion of rural development money and the UK government’s match funding.

And what about the future? Not all governments will be as friendly to farming and the countryside as this one.

What might a Corbyn-led Labour government do, for example?

Our government has been quick to offer reassurance – but it cannot dictate what will happen in future.

JULIE GIRLING

MEP for the South West and Gibraltar,

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Crisis may be looming

UKIP is the Jeremy Kyle show, the Liberal Democrats are at best Emmerdale and Labour is now Christmas EastEnders.

Journalists across the land are leafing through their thesauruses trying to find synonyms for “cataclysm”.

And, while all the Parties that claimed to be socially democratic race towards the cliff edge, the officially titled Social Democratic Party, now a Eurosceptic outfit, is re-emerging. Surely this is Labour’s epitaph?

C DEVINE

Address supplied

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Sign up to be runner

I AM writing to invite your readers to sign up to be a British Heart Foundation Heart Runner at this year’s Blenheim Palace Half Marathon and 10km on October 2 to help fight back against heart disease.

Twenty years ago I was fortunate enough to represent Great Britain at Atlanta’s Olympics Games, winning silver in the 400m and 4x400m relay.

This incredible achievement might not have been possible.

At the age of 11 doctors discovered that I had congenital heart disease and my aortic valve was leaking.

Doctors agreed I could take part in competitive sports as long as I was closely monitored through yearly hospital appointments.

I attended each appointment for 39 years, missing just one to attend the Atlanta Olympic Games.

Two decades on, as I watch this year’s Olympic Games in Rio, my memories of the iconic event flood back. Uniting people across the globe, through the love of sport, it was a truly inspiring moment.

But you don’t have to be an Olympian to get the feeling I had when you’re on the podium.

I am delighted to be supporting the BHF’s Blenheim Palace 10km and Half Marathon.

The event will see floods of people uniting in the fight against heart disease – for every mile you run, you will be helping fund the BHF’s life saving research, which has benefitted me and 7 million others across the UK. What better feeling is there?

In the south west there are an estimated 669,000 people living with heart and circulatory disease and it is responsible for nearly 15,000 deaths each year.

But, by taking part in this event, you can really make a difference.

Alongside 3,000 amazing Heart Runners who have already signed up, we want to raise in excess of £180,000 for the BHF’s vital research into heart and circulatory disease.

If you’re feeling inspired by watching and cheering on this generation of Olympians, become a Heart Runner and sign up to run 2km, 10km or a half marathon through the beautiful grounds of Blenheim Palace. To register for the Blenheim Palace 2km fun run, 10k or Half Marathon visit www.bhf.org.uk/Blenheim.

or you can find out more about the BHF’s programme of running events by visiting bhf.org.uk/ events or by contacting the events team at events@bhf.org.uk or telephoning 0845 130 8663.

ROGER BLACK MBE

BHF’s Ambassador