ON the subject of immigration by both EU member and non-EU member citizens into Britain (and Europe in general), how many of you watched on television the coastguard patrol boat meet up with the overcrowded inflatable full of Africans heading for Italy or Malta?

Were these people turned back? The answer was they were fed, watered and escorted into Malta!

The mere fact that this kind of situation is happening not only in Malta but many other resorts such as Minorca, Majorca and Tenerife makes a mockery of the immigration laws throughout the whole of the European Union, our own laws on this subject being non-existent.

Shouldn't we therefore as British holidaymakers be boycotting these destinations that allow this situation to arise?

Councillor Don Thomas (In My View, June 19) sings the praises of his Labour party's efforts for the past decade and views the present situation we exist in through rose tinted glasses.

He tells us that it is all too easy to blame Tony Blair for the war in Iraq but generously admits he should bear some of the blame, who may I ask should we saddle with the rest of the blame?

I'm not certain whether he is promising 132 new hospitals or decrying the Tories for not delivering but all I ever read about is the closure of our hospitals.

I note he fails to mention the gridlock on our roads (population growth), our housing situation (population growth), our NHS overload (population growth), rising crime figures and prisons overload (population growth), etc.

Of course he can only compare our current situation with past Tory rule, (the Thatcher years) and still members of the EU so he's on a pretty safe thing but here's one person who sees things for what they really are today.

I'm a little older than Don Thomas and I obviously have a longer memory of how things were before the coming of the EU.

Maybe a little less in our pockets but by far a happier population than we have today.

L A O'BEE, Lordswood, Southampton.