SO now we know! We will never be allowed a fair and an un-manipulated vote on joining the euro, a currency that has constantly been rescued by British taxpayers' money.

Various devious methods of gradually introducing it into the country are now underway to ensure we are forced to accept it. The Government is behind this.

Furthermore, those countries who have already joined the single currency, after being told that it would run alongside their own currency are now being forced to swap their own coinage, which will be lost forever. Typical European dictatorship!

The county has the most deceitful and manipulative government in the whole of Parliamentary history - and people are pathetically accepting the situation.

MRS R CALDWELL, Droitwich.

n I WAS under the impression that Tony Blair was to have a referendum on whether we should accept the Euro currency, and yet from the very first day of 2002, the euro will be freely acceptable in quite a number of shops in the UK.

This is a blatant attempt to try and hoodwink our people into accepting and joining the Tony Blair fixation to ditch the pound and everything British in an attempt to gain prominence in Europe.

Well, as we are contributing £25m per day to the EU, one would expect us to have some sort of clout, but the truth is, that the powers-that-be in Brussels have over the years, dictated their terms to Great Britain.

Blair wants to be a European presidential figure. Not only would it be a folly to accept the euro it would be detrimental to us all to keep funding Europe when we can't look after our own people.

D PARKER,

Worcester.