I MUST confess that I take little interest in the affairs of Northern Ireland, but I was under the impression that there were two criminal groups terrorising the ordinary people of the country.

Why, then, do the Conservatives in Parliament only demand that one group be made to surrender their weapons?

Could it possibly be because a number of Conservatives are adherents of the Orange order?

Maybe it is time MPs declared their membership of all the organisations they support.

I sincerely wish the people of Ireland a peaceful democratic future free from the interference of outsiders and the hatred generated by pretend Christians.

G SMITH, Bold Street, Blackburn.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.