ONCE again the puzzling raid on Lancaster's Warehouse Nightclub continues to baffle and mobilise public opinion, with well argued and reasoned responses of outrage and bewilderment from all sectors of the community. All which will surely embarrass the Lancashire Constabulary.

The front page of last week's Lancaster Guardian read 'no apologies'. And Supt Graham now claims there were '200' people in the club at the time!

It's amazing, the figure is going up each week. Rising at the same rate as the number of reasons desperately needed to try and justify the whole curious operation.

Why does this paper allow itself to be a platform for this police public relations exercise?

The front page banner headline last week proudly boasted 'No Apologies' while, on the bottom of the very same front page it reported, in little more than 50 cursory words, on a story about the significantly more important and serious charge of high ranking police officers facing charges of perverting the course of justice.

This is a dangerous turn in reporting with the paper's reporters being invited along to take part in police operations in the first instance then facilitating the subsequent voicing of the police's version of events.

I only hope that this disturbing bias can be reversed or they will be discredited as a mouthpiece for government and establishment propaganda. After running Lancaster's most trouble free nightclub in recent years, I wish the Warehouse owner Mark Harding all the best as he begins to clear his name which has been disgracefully tarnished by over zealous and shoddy police work... topped off with sinister journalistic practices.

M Pejic Haverbreaks Lancaster

The interesting point (and in the Guardian's defence) is that when proceedings are active, as in the officers charged with perverting the course of justice story, papers are limited as to the detail they can print about the alleged offences... one wonders why the the same rules are not applied in all cases. Don't pay to have your intelligence insulted? Stick with the free press mate - Ed