DEAR EDITOR -- At a time when, despite appallingly high council taxes, our hospitals are running out of money to pay staff wages, services are being cut and staffing levels are at crisis point, war-mongers Blair and Brown have decided to squander another £1 billion of taxpayers money on their bloody invasion of Iraq, making a total, so far, of £3 billion.

Meanwhile hundreds of thousands of British people suffering from incurable diseases are denied sufficient research funding to find cures to end their ordeal.

It is outrageous that 'New Labour' can find enormous amounts of our money to kill and maim, but refuses to spend enough money on helping several sick and dying people to recover their health.

Perhaps Birmingham MP Clare Short could spend some of the £120m aid earmarked for Iraq, on the vulnerable, desperate people in her constituency and country.

R Fownes,

Wellington Road,

Bromsgrove.