6 DECEMBER 1975, Page 4

. . . and the Government

Sir: The dastardly murder of Mr Ross McWhirter is a further instance of terrorist escalation in England, much of the blame for which must rest on successive governments, whose pusillanimous action in regard to Northern Ireland has induced the belief that terrorism pays.

It would be deeply regrettable if otherwise law-abiding citizens took the law into their own' hands, as has happened on occasions in Ulster. A government must maintain justice, law and order; in other words govern — or get out.

L. M. Hopkins Wick Crest, Wick Lane, Devizes, Wiltshire