EXACTLY what does Mr Greenhalgh (BEN, January 25) mean when he says "Defeating terrorism must not be tarnished by religion"?

That we should not allow our religious beliefs to get in the way of defeating terrorism, or that we should not use religion to justify terrorism?

And, by religion, does he mean that cosy pipe and slippers pap which emanates from our TV and radio sets every Sunday, most notably at Christmas? Or does he mean that back-breaking, gut-wrenching battle against evil, which ordinary men and women undertake every day of their lives? My personal battle against evil is a bit like going up Rivington Pike in the teeth of a gale -- one step forward, two steps back. But I find precious little comfort or inspiration in the behaviour of the establishment whom, I am told, ad nauseum infinitum, I should respect. Which brings us to this Government's claim to be "Tough on crime and tough on the causes".

Terrorism is a crime and, as such, the Prime Minister should be tough on its causes and, as Mr Greenhalgh rightly says, it "... should be attacked and defeated at every opportunity in each country in which it is found".

Perhaps, then, Mr Blair would care to explain the logic of a situation in which Britain persists in actively supporting the illegal occupation of countries such as Palestine, which provoke such terrorism, and why we export small-arms, sub-machine guns, cluster bombs and other ammunition to countries such as Turkey, Bangladesh, the Cayman Islands, Mexico, Ecuador, Pakistan, Indonesia, the Philippines and Zimbabwe. Arms export licences continue to be granted, despite well-documented human rights violations in those and other countries and with little regard to serious end-use concerns, which renders Mr Blair's description of Britain's role in world affairs as "pivotal" something of an understatement.

In the light of the above, it is rank hypocrisy that Britain's Parliament prays each day to a Christian god and that some of its members claim that Britain is a Christian country. Senior police officers should refrain from accusing the public of a lack of respect for authority, and politicians should not complain about voter apathy when it is through the example of our so-called superiors that both politics and religion are perceived as being, as you say, Mr Greenhalgh -- tarnished.

William Kelly (not the politician)

Darley Street

Farnworth, Bolton