Madam, - In his splendid column last Saturday, Garret FitzGerald argues that the British government's proposals for restorative justice in Northern Ireland threaten democracy.
How right he is. As a member of one of Northern Ireland's district policing partnerships, I know that many of my colleagues (who from time to time have been subject to a vicious campaign of intimidation by paramilitaries) share his fears and concerns.
Shame on the British and Irish governments' cowardly and potentially dangerous approach to this issue. The police must have a proper and clearly defined role in any restorative justice scheme. It is time to get the paramilitaries off our streets, not to perpetuate their influence and control. - Yours, etc,
DAVID GRIFFIN, Magherally, Banbridge, Co Down.