If he had not been struck off, the GMC would have been widely seen as protecting one of its own, further eroding public confidence.I A K. But the fact that I cannot prove that Dr Deliyanakis is a not reincarnation of Napoleon provides not a jot of evidence that he is.DAVID HOOLEYNEWMARKET, SUFFOLK Don't blame the courts Sir: Sarah Nelson (letter, 18 July) seeks to exonerate Professor Roy Meadow by transferring the blame to the legal system But we are all responsible for our own actions. Theists "believe" in their gods without any evidence, exercising a special sort of "belief" called faith. Failure to appreciate this distinction leads to a familiar logical error: because there is no proof that gods do not exist, this is taken as evidence that they do. They would happily believe in gods tomorrow if there was a shred of evidence that any existed Atheists proportion their belief according to the evidence. Dentists do not therefore have an incentive to offer cheaper private care as they are committed to provide an agreed number of courses of treatment for their NHS patients.

Any care provided privately must therefore be on top of their agreed level of NHS work to meet their contractual commitments.The new contractual arrangements for dentists rightly place the emphasis on preventative oral health care and free dentists from an overly bureaucratic system, allowing them more time with their patients. And patients too benefit from fairer, simpler, and clearer dental charges.PROFESSOR RAMAN BEDICHIEF DENTAL OFFICER, ENGLAND DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH LONDON SW1 Atheist logic   Sir: In response to Nicholas Deliyanakis (letter, 20 July), I have never found atheists to be dogmatic. CO2 emissions are a primary contributor to climate change, the severity of extreme weather and rising sea levels.Just this month, days before the G8 Summit in which the UK focused discussions on climate change, Labour abandoned their fuel duty increase, which could have made an impact in the 22 per cent of CO2 emissions caused by drivers The duty has not been increased since October 2003. Both the Public Accounts Committee and the Transport Committee are part of that system.

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We criticised the Highways Agency's response to bad weather in January 2003; the Highways Agency reviewed its arrangements. We warned the Government about committing to its Lorry Road User Charge scheme while planning for national road pricing; Alistair Darling announced on 5 July that the Government would work towards a single system.The select committee system is the best way we have of holding Departments to account. Wouldn't the Prime Minister serve us better by promoting policies that encourage parents to supervise their children themselves, before they become badly behaved?ROBERT BOTTAMLEY,HEDON, EAST RIDING A committee that drives ahead Sir: Mike Rutherford of the Motorists' Association thinks the Transport Select Committee has said or done nothing of any importance in the last decade ("Let Road Users Take Control", 12 July).Under my chairmanship, the Transport Committee during the last parliament published reports and made recommendations to Government about the roads, the Highways Agency, traffic law and its enforcement, cars of the future and road pricing. Is that not sufficient reason for the French to be proud?RICHARD BRYANTLONDON N16 Parents should care for children first Sir: The Prime Minister has asked headteachers to consider whether or not the parents of badly behaved pupils should remain at home to supervise their offspring (report, 20 July).As a teacher who has witnessed the deterioration of pupil behaviour in schools over a twenty-five year period, I would return the question. Mr Blair's Government has supported the introduction of school breakfast clubs, extended school hours for the provision of childcare, and return-to-work policies for mothers. Mr Anderson goes on to describe Muslims as "proud peoples with even fewer reasons for national pride than the French".Would that be the same French as those who inhabit a beautiful country, who enjoy glorious food and wine in a benign climate? Would that be the people of a land of high-speed trains that run on time, of often immaculate towns and cities, glorious landscapes, countryside, coastline and mountains; a land that produces superbly creative and innovative filmmakers; a land of great artists, philosophers and scientists; a land of world-class and, of late, world-beating sportsmen? A country with a government that did not support the illegal massacres that are sold as "the liberation of Iraq". And does he perhaps forget the "the liberation of Iraq", an appalling misadventure that the French very wisely and correctly decided to oppose?That remark was at the start of a paragraph as offensive as any I can remember in The Independent's recent history.