I SINCERELY hope Greg Dyke becomes Chancellor of York University because he is obviously a man of courage, loyalty and integrity.

We know from the evidence presented to the Hutton inquiry that Alastair Campbell and Jonathan Powell, the chief of staff at 10 Downing Street, rewrote the dossier by deleting words and substituting their own in order to strengthen the case for a pre-emptive war on Iraq.

The intelligence chief John Scarlett agreed to obey his political masters, and the fell deed was done.

But did the Prime Minister lie to us when he stated in the Commons that weapons of mass destruction (WMD) could be launched, presumably at Britain or Cyprus, in 45 minutes?

These were the issues over which Dr Kelly lost his life and the Hutton Inquiry was set up.

This misses entirely the real point. If I wish to prove a theory to an impartial audience, whether it be on global warming or WMD, I would be expected to have a high standard of proof.

If contemplating the execution of Iraqi civilians by military means then my standard of proof must be so high as to be incontrovertible.

If the PM did not lie, then he acted resulting in the death of thousands - on evidence which has been shown to be absent, and on merely single hearsay testimony.

This blaming of the BBC will not do.

Chris Clayton,

Hempland Drive, York.

...SO Mr Blair and Mr Campbell are honest men, and Mr Davies, Mr Dyke and Mr Gilligan are guilty of inaccurate reporting and impugning the honour of the Prime Minister and the Government.

I am sure that Mr Blair will wish to clear the air further, and enhance his reputation by having an inquiry into the inaccuracy of the intelligence which was used to convince a sceptical nation of the necessity for the war on Iraq.

Mr Blair is an honourable man, and I would hope that he will not hesitate to set up an impartial inquiry, preferably made up of Privy Counsellors from all parties.

We really must be told why Mr Scarlet and his chaps got it so wrong.

Peter Combie,

Albemarle Road, York.

...IT IS inconceivable that the Mandleson and Campbell team, when allowed to find their own pitch for last Wednesday's cup tie, would not choose a sloping ground and decide that for a necessary quick result they should play only from the higher end.

Even with a premier league referee, it was surprising that they should have won by at least two-nil, when they had only just scraped through their match with the students on Tuesday.

What is more likely is that those watching the game have gone home feeling cheated and will get out to support their own teams more so that, when they are allowed to vote on who shall represent the country, justice will be done.

Kenneth Evans,

Heworth Village,

York.

...WHETHER the Hutton Report is fair or not it has still been a success for the Labour Party because it has put into the background things that affect everybody's daily life.

This Government has done nothing to help the population of this country. In fact they have done the opposite. All the services that affect people's lives are in total disarray: the NHS, law and order, transport, education and asylum, all are in a shambles.

This state of affairs has been running since the start of the Iraqi war and the attention has been taken away from the home front.

But let us not forget that in the past the favourite ruse to take the attention of the population away from the home front was to go to war, this was done by Galtieri in Argentina and by Mr Blair's arch rival Saddam Hussein in the war with Iran and Kuwait to name just two.

TJ Ryder,

Priory Gardens,

Updated: 10:03 Tuesday, February 03, 2004