I AM disappointed that the North Hampshire Hospitals NHS Trust has deferred its bid for Foundation status, but, in prevailing circumstances, this was unavoidable.

The real problem is recurring debt and the trust's need to find £7.2million savings this year.

I sincerely hope the trust can achieve "financial sustainability". The greater independence which comes with Foundation status is the way forward.

I WAS among the MPs who warned the Government during the passage of the Terrorism Bill in 1999 that the courts might rule that the term "IRA" did not embrace the breakaway Real IRA.

To play safe, the Government only had to add "Real IRA" to the list of proscribed organisations. Tragically, they refused to listen.

I weep over last week's legal ruling. There is no joy in saying "I told you so". The Government's wholly avoidable blunder means that the Omagh bombers now cannot be charged with membership of an illegal organisation.

ACCORDING to press reports, one of my Conservative colleagues in the Commons believes that 20 per cent of his constituency association members will vote UKIP in the forthcoming Euro election.

I have no idea if this is true but I know from canvassing locally that a lot of people will be voting UKIP - more, I suspect, than public opinion polls currently indicate.

I am not remotely surprised. Free from the responsibilities of General Election voting, many people will see June 10 as a glorious occasion for expressing their heartfelt opposition to the European Union.