I WAS very annoyed and sad to hear that Bangor Street Community Centre in Blackburn had been the venue for Sheikh Abu Hamza to speak recently and that he was in Blackburn at all.

The centre should be reclaimed for the usual peaceful activities and let's continue to work at building bridges in our communities instead of whipping up hatred.

Also, a recent protest on the steps of the town hall was called 'peaceful' by a police spokesperson (LET, March 24), Burning the US flag and images of our MP, Jack Straw, could not be described as peaceful.

EILEEN DUXBURY (Mrs), West Leigh Road, Blackburn.