n JOHN Phillpott sees the unemployed millions of Eastern Europe and Turkey as a threat to workers in Britain but also regards restrictions on the sale of Third World agricultural produce as being wrong.

The problem is we have our own agricultural industry to support and buying African produce may put them out of business.

All this talk of 'reforming' markets and 'opening up' the EU to Third World produce neglects the fact that in an unrestricted global market workers in Britain simply cannot compete with foreign starvation wages.

America and Britain abolished slavery but global capitalism has simply transferred the problem to the Third World. And unless we take a stand against the current ethos of beggar my neighbour and devil take the hindmost we could see British people back in the situation of the wage slavery our forefathers fought so hard to end.

Messrs Bush and Blair travel the globe advising other nations on how to run their affairs. But it's time someone pointed out to them that too many American and British citizens live in fear of crime and financial insecurity in unsatisfactory housings and with little hope of a decent old age before them. Let's sort that out first.

JIM EVANS, Worcester.

n THE Pensioners' Parliament rounded on Stephen Timms, new Pensions Minister, when at their Blackpool conference he tried to convince them that Labour had made progress with pensioner benefits. Enthusiastically, they gave him 'the slow handclap', shouted 'waffle' and quoted eight years of Labour broken promises. But in reality, many only have themselves to blame.

Thousands of pensioners - and many now approaching pension age - must have voted consistently either Labour or Tory over many decades.

And the MPs they so enthusiastically voted for? All now receive more in 'expenses' each month than many pensioners receive as income in one year!

FRANK L JONES, Malvern.