FOLLOWING recent reports about his sleight-of-hand Budget, which takes more tax from the lower earners (£14,000 or below, according to many financial experts), and his decision in his 1997 Budget to remove tax relief on pension investments, which has cost £75-80 billion in ten years and led to massive deficits for some funds and the closure or collapse of others, despite being previously advised of the damage that his budget tax on such funds would cause, can Gordon (Prudence) Brown ever be trusted again?

After all, he is tainted by Blair's foray into Iraq and the lies that were used to support it, as well as by helping to create the largest-ever gap between the richest and the poorest in this country and which is still happening as the richest double their wealth and the rest make do with cost-of-living index, if they're lucky!

Of course, there is always some Government office where you can go with a begging bowl.

Gordon and his Government like to see us do that, especially poor pensioners.

As someone whose pension has been damaged by this prudent chancellor whilst he squanders money in Iraq and elsewhere, I for one do not think he is worthy of further trust and am glad to see that even some trade unions are now talking against him for leader or Prime Minister.

Watch out for Parliament's next big move, to give taxpayers' money to political parties, themselves in other words.

Maybe we should have a referendum on that so the voters decide, not the MPs.

Paul W Cooper, Kingsway West, Acomb, York.