I AGREE 100 per cent with Councillor Dave Hollings that freedom is very important and needs to be defended.

However, perhaps Coun Hollings needs to ponder that on September 11, with the terrorist attack on New York, everything changed. The USA is having to bring in many draconian laws which before then would have been totally unacceptable.

The Prime Minister made plain at the Labour Party conference that the fight against terrorism is the most important issue facing the world today. And he was quite right.

It appears to me that as the Home Secretary has strongly hinted the European Convention of Human Rights needs to be looked at again to see if parts of it can be used to aid terrorists. This is sound comm on sense.

President Bush has told the American people that following the New York attack many things have to change. Personal safety comes before freedom.

This is a message we in Britain are going to have to accept. It is no use people having personal freedom if they risk being maimed and killed by terrorist attacks.

COUNCILLOR D PEARSON, Rawstorne Street, Blackburn.