THE Turner Report on pensions has already been sabotaged by Gordon Brown, who is said to believe that the key element of linking the state pension to earnings, as opposed to inflation, is unaffordable.

The black hole in pensions was created by Gordon Brown. When Labour came to power in 1997, he removed £5 billion per year from the pension fund.

When the Government agreed to allow public sector employees to retire and draw pension at 60, this increased the long-term liability for the payment of these pensions to the private sector to an estimated £700 billion.

Never mind that the rest of us poor souls have to work to 67 to qualify for our pensions, we also have to foot the bill for the private sector workers' early retirement.

I would like to remind people that in 1980, when the then Conservative Government abolished the link between pensions and earnings, the Labour Party opposed it vehemently. They have now been in power for eight years, and every year pensioners have begged them to restore the link, but to no avail.

It would appear that Greedy Gordon is happy with pensioners depending on means-tested handouts instead of giving them the right to retire on a decent state pension.

Hugh Bayley has always intimated that he is the champion of pensioners. I wonder if he is going to prove it by voting for the return of the link?

Christopher Leeman,

Bouthwaite Drive,

Acomb, York.

Updated: 09:41 Wednesday, November 30, 2005