Those of us who long for Britain's withdrawal from the EU do so in the knowledge that while the continental market is important to

Those of us who long for Britain's withdrawal from the EU do so in the knowledge that while the continental market is important to Britain, it is not unique and our access to it is not dependent on membership of the EU, any more than it is for the USA, Japan or Switzerland. We also know that the economic growth opportunities of the next millennium lie overwhelmingly in the wider world far from the perpetual European squabbles. My guess is that Churchill would be truly horrified at the defeatist tendency in British public life which sees no future for Britain except as part of a Franco-German dominated European Union. The usual deprecating reference to "little Englanders" also comes ill from the six grandees.

They might like to know that Joe Chamberlain coined the phrase to describe those, like the six, who concentrated on England's immediate neighbourhood (the Continent) rather than on the "greater England" in the world beyond the seas. Sir: Invoking the name of Winston Churchill to support their vision of Britain's place in Europe is a favourite ploy of the Eurofederalists. The six Tory grandees in their letter (19 September) do it three times. In fact Churchill made clear on many occasions, including the Zurich speech ("we are interested in but not absorbed") that his vision explicitly excluded Britain from a future United States of Europe. I hope your hair curls naturally," both of which nightly cracked up a predominantly black audience and occasionally the cast.MERLIN HOLLANDLondon, SW11.

It was a deliciously fresh production of a play all too often weighed down by its own reputation, and it would doubtless have appealed to my grandfather Oscar Wilde, outsider and iconoclast that he was, to see his acute social comment updated. He could not, however, have anticipated the double entendre in Gwendolyn and Cecily's frosty exchange: "When I see a spade I call it a spade." - "I am glad to say that I have never seen a spade," and the bonus joke in Cecily's question to Algy: "You dear romantic boy ... The whole quality of life on the housing estates is improved.Nuisance neighbours are visited, mediation arranged where necessary. Only in extreme situations which cannot be handled locally will the police or the processes of eviction be used.TEDDY GOLDDirectorSchool Councils UKLondon N3. Sir: Your article on multi-racial casting in the theatre (19 September), prompted by Sonia Swaby playing Nancy in Oliver, quotes an Equity spokesman as saying: "I can't think of something like this happening in the West End before." He cannot have seen the Talawa Theatre's all black cast playing The Importance of Being Earnest at the Bloomsbury Theatre in 1989. Housing estate tenants are encouraged to help to care for their own communities, including the elderly, children and those at risk. However Jack Straw has not made proposals as to how local people, living in the blocks, can be assisted to use their experience to influence neighbour behaviour. New legislation alone cannot deal with anti-social behaviour The law- and-order approach is a costly one. Far less costly and more effective is the community development approach, with elected neighbourhood councils.

Accelerated procedures to secure eviction in cases of antisocial behaviour (leading article, 18 September) are required. The danger is real that this chance will be lost unless governments which have hitherto been reluctant to offer support ensure that the UN has the calibre of personnel and the financial backing it so badly needs. Sir: Nuisance neighbours and bullies cause havoc and can cause mental ill health to their neighbours, particularly on densely populated housing estates "Sin bin" blocks have been created for problem families. These families are passed on to another area and take their problems with them.

The strongest possible Secretary- General and an effective secretariat are essential.FRANK JUDD(Lord Judd of Portsea)Senior Fellow, SaferworldLondon WC1. The aim should be to build a network of concern involving the participation of a wide cross-section of the international community. In this context, Boutros Boutros-Ghali is right that governments have yet to define the role of the UN in the new post-Cold War international order (report, 17 September). The UN should be the forum which co-ordinates the range of actions, provides their legitimacy and ensures their coherence, consistency and accountability - not least that of Nato in Bosnia.There is a real opportunity now for the international community to develop a new approach to preventing conflict, which addresses its root causes and enables the building of sustainable peace. Yet amidst the furore surrounding his future, this important consideration appears to have been overlooked. The UN should be the framework within which a wide range of specialist actors, including UN bodies, governments, regional and non-governmental organisations, churches and businesses, can contribute to the cause of peace. But the high- profile failures in Somalia, Rwanda and Bosnia have shown that preventing the internal conflicts of today's world cannot be done by an under-resourced UN alone A new approach is required. This is not the answer.We need strong laws, and a strong commitment to enforce those laws.JONATHAN BLAYBROUGHAnti-Slavery InternationalLondon SW9.