Letters to the Editor

SIR - It was with some disbelief that I read the front page of the T&A of June 15 with regard to the requirement to resign of PC Rick Pentith on the grounds of his racism for using the word "Wog". I would say at this point that I am a retired police officer but have never met PC Pentith.

In my opinion this is an absolute disgrace. Do the majority believe that saying this word makes anyone a racist? The racists are the ones who set fire to houses occupied by coloured people and form gangs to beat them up as in the Stephen Lawrence case, certainly not the person who uses the odd name.

Cannot the powers-that-be see that this political correctness causes racism? I can only hope that the Chief Constable in his wisdom accepts the appeal by PC Pentith and brings a little sense to the proceedings by giving him his job back.

I would challenge the Chief Constable to have a referendum in his force to see if his rank-and-file officers agree with the result of the disciplinary board.

Duncan Higgins, Oaklands, Bradford 10.

Touch of overkill

SIR - On reading that the West Yorkshire Police have sacked PC Rick Pentith for making a racist remark, the words "sledgehammer, crack and nut" came to mind.

R G Stephens, Duchywood, Heaton.

Dispersal truths

SIR - I object to the word "infamous" used in School Matters (June 12) to describe policies approved unanimously by the Council in 1965 to deal with the sudden and continuing arrival in the city of large numbers of non-English speaking children.

As Assistant Education Officer for Special Services at the time, I was responsible for implementing the policy of dispersal and other initiatives, incuding notably the language centres in which children with no English (whether Asian or European) were first placed before transfer to schools where they would be helped to build on what they had learned and mix with English children.

Nobody who was here in 1965 could doubt the need to tackle energetically the educational problems which these children raised (and, indeed, children born here) in households where no English was spoken. It was not "racism" as I thought we had convinced the Commission for Racial Equality.

Many reports, including annual statements, were made to the committee and should be available in the Central Library.

Many policies were amended (or ended) in the 1980s and it is notable that the Ofsted Report criticises the Council for not doing what their predecessors did so well in the 1970s.

P T B Bendall, Westleigh Way, Baildon.

No neglect here

SIR - Councillor Smith in his musings on the education budget seems to have ignored the fact that the £5 million directed into the budget is being spent as we speak. That was on top of a £1 million cash injection mid-year.

I do not know where he lived in the late 1980s. Here in Bradford millions were taken out of Bradford's schools by the self-same Tories.

More is needed surely, but after 18 years of national neglect, to have rising budgets and the largest cash commitment in the UK for the schools review is hardly a legacy of neglect.

So if it falls to the Tories to sort this out, what are we to make of the surrender of this portfolio to the Liberal Democrat part of the coalition?

Councillor Ralph Berry (Executive member, Labour spokesman on Education and Young People), Briarwood Grove, Wibsey.

Amazing pact

SIR - Now that the dust has settled on the local elections, I must admit to being amazed at the strategy (if that is what it is) of our local Liberal Democrats.

At a time when their national leader is on his feet condemning William Hague for his party's right-wing extremism, they are entering a pact with our local Tories. Perhaps it is time for their local supporters to put a question or two to the leadership.

Do the Liberals really think that the Tories are the best option for increasing investment and resources for our local schools, housing and social services? Do the Lib-Dems actually believe that the Conservatives are capable of providing better leadership?

What happens if the Conservative national leadership continue their right-wing stance on immigration. Are the local Liberals really content to prop up a Tory administration?

I would suggest that whatever doubts we may have about the Labour Party, they are at least sticking to their principles and offer a clear and decent alternative to this dreadful coalition.

J Stephenson, Ashfield Crescent, Bingley.

Shout out loud

SIR - The reader who told OAPs to 'stop moaning and get on with it' is probably on the Income Support bandwagon. Well not everybody is, mate. If you have worked hard all your life and maybe for a small company pension, you get nothing.

If you look around, you will see hundreds of pensioners doing part-time jobs - not because they're greedy but simply to help them do what they have always done - pay their way.

Rather than telling them to stop moaning they should be encouraged to shout louder and longer, because we live in an age where the longer you shout the better off you become.

The pensioner slogan for the not-too-distant election should be the reverse of what JFK once said to the Yanks: "Ask not what you can do for your country, but what your country can do for YOU".

Les Pritchard, Bolton Road, Bradford.

Ride for your life

SIR - Thank you for your coverage of the Bike to Work Day and Centenary Square Breakfast. I'd like to take the opportunity to remind employers of the benefits of encouraging people to cycle to work.

BMA research showed that people who ride to work take fewer days off sick, are more alert when they start work and their higher levels of fitness maintain that alertness throughout the day.

Other financial benefits include a lowering of the cost of providing parking spaces and reductions in congestion (which costs industry over a billion pounds each year).

For the individual, cycling four miles a day reduces the chances of a heart attack by 50 per cent. If you are older, it's easier to tailor your exercise to your existing level of fitness and modern gear technology makes it possible to ride almost anywhere.

Yes, I know Bradford's hilly, but the Swiss make 18 times more journey's by bike than we do.

Ride for your life, you know it makes sense. If you want your kids to have fun on their bikes, the Kids Saturday Bike Club meets most Saturdays at the Richard Dunn Centre track. Contact me on 01274 602394.

Mike Healey (Bradford Cycling Action Group), Dyehouse Road, Bradford 12.

Helpful staff

SIR - In reply to a letter printed on June 12 regarding the doctor who had to wait in Ward 15 for her treatment all day, I can appreciate that this must have been quite distressing at the time.

However, as a day patient who attends every week for treatment, I felt that I must write and express my thanks and appreciation to Ward 15. I have always found the staff to be extremely helpful and friendly.

Mrs Janet Wilkinson, Deanwood Walk, Allerton.