I am sure if you asked the people of North Yorkshire if they wished Fylingdales to be used as part of the US missile defence system you would get a resounding 'no'.

The only reason the US wants such a system is so that it can continue its world-wide bombing campaign without fear of reprisals.

If it did not interfere so much in the politics of other countries, deciding which countries required regime change, and which countries' records of human rights to condemn and which to conveniently ignore, it would not be in the position where it needs to defend itself from attack.

And as for the so-called 'special relationship' we have with the Americans, it is pretty much 'they say jump, and we say how high'! We are part of the European Union. Is it not time we started to align our foreign policy with the rest of Europe, which is going in a very different direction than that of the US?

Andrew Collingwood,

Turners Croft,

Heslington, York.

Updated: 10:08 Saturday, December 21, 2002