SIR - I was deeply saddened to read Eric Firth's extremist and totally unbalanced In My View' column (T&A, January 11).

Here's the balance to Mr Firth's statements: True, England may have "plundered land that wasn't ours", but that's not the full picture.

What about the French, the Germans and the Spanish conquistadors who exploited the Aztecs, Incas and Mayas in their lust for gold?

True, England took part in the slave trade, but it was Portugal that first imported slaves to Europe, and did not the Royal Navy play a large part in ending this evil trade?

True, Churchill had his faults, but he was the strong leader we needed in the dark days of the war.

True, fanatical, mindless patriotism like that of the Nazis is wrong, as is the my country right or wrong' view. However, to call all patriotic people feeble minded' is both insulting and untrue.

Paul Collins, Brookfield Road, Pollard Park, Bradford