The Church of England has never held shares in British Aerospace

The Church of England has never held shares in British Aerospace. Stating that we moved to have judges dismissed for failing to convict is untrue.Michael Clarke was found guilty of violating Republic Act 7610 This law makes it a crime to offer minors for prostitution. The court found the ITN video of Clarke allegedly making such offers compelling evidence, as well as a poster he had made advertising sex orgies and more besides.The allegation that I "condemn opponents by association and exaggeration", and the insinuation that we cut corners and bend the rules, in helping the children to bring their cases to court is baseless.Philip Sweeney also failed to note that we vigorously campaign against the death penalty, which causes more heinous crimes against children and prevents nothing.Had he spent more time with the official record and less in the kiddie sex clubs he would have enlightened and informed your readers and done justice to the children, who are the forgotten victims in his story.Fr SHAY CULLENPreda FoundationOlongapo CityPhilippines. Had Philip taken the time to visit the Preda Children's Home when he was investigating the Olongapo paedophile sex bars, he could have talked to some of the 46 child victims in therapeutic recovery, ages ranging from six to 16. Labelling the 20 Preda staffers who care for these child victims as part of a "coalition of paedophile vigilantes", is trite and unjust. Sir: Philip Sweeney's sympathetic treatment of convicted paedophiles in the Philippines (The Independent Magazine, 17 April) missed out the most important thing of all - the compelling evidence from the child victims themselves. Irrespective of their decision, the lure of free shares is probably too attractive for members of other societies to pass up This will definitely not be the last vote on the issue..

That means they can pass on the benefits to all their members."However, an Alliance & Leicester spokesman points out that headline rates are not always a reflection of good value: "Most new borrowers are on fixed, capped or discounted deals, where every lender will have its own atttractive rates, not just the mutuals."At the same time, despite Bradford & Bingley's competitive prices, the cheapest variable mortgage rates at present come from Egg , Legal & General, Bank of Scotland and Standard Life Bank, three of which are part of publicly- quoted companies and only one (Standard) is mutually-owned.For members at Bradford & Bingley, the verdict is due on Monday. Of almost 7 million Halifax members who received free shares, barely 3.5 million are left; the 2.5 million Alliance & Leicester shareholders at launch are barely 1.1 million today.Meanwhile, pro-mutual supporters argue, their customers are left paying for the flotation through higher mortgage charges and lower rates paid on their savings accounts.This was underlined recently in a survey by Which?, which found that someone with an pounds 80,000 mortgage with Bradford & Bingley would have saved pounds 719 just between 1996 and 1998 compared to the average variable rate charged by eight other former building societies.The society also paid an average 1 per cent more interest on pounds 3,000 held in a tax-free Tessa account than the average of the same eight converted societies - equal to pounds 150 in extra interest over a Tessa's lifetime.Adrian Coles, director general at the Building Societies Association, says: "The reason why societies do so much better is that, unlike converters, they don't have to pay dividends to shareholders. there is no way that we would have been able to pay that much surplus capital to our members in the form of improved benefits."Alliance & Leicester shares have done better than Halifax's - rising 72 per cent to 880 pence and worth pounds 2,200 to former members - although their dividend payout to date is pounds 112.There is another fact to take into account. The shares, worth 736 pence on flotation, are today almost 900 pence each.Even more enticing is the fact that the total amount of dividends already paid out - or about to be in the next six weeks - amounts to about pounds 1 per share. Former members of Halifax, the society that converted in June 1997, received an average of 330 free shares each at demutualisation. Would you rather have hundreds of free shares worth up to pounds 1,500 or lower mortgage costs and higher savings rates?The lure of free shares is hard to ignore.

A society spokeswoman said: "We remain confident about the outcome, although we are not complacent."The argument, as always, is about money. More than 1.6 million votes are believed to have been cast, the highest turnout for a society challenged by one of its own members.The result is set for a nail-biting finish. It will announce the result of a vote among its 2.5 million members on whether the society should demutualise. Experts believe the decision will determine whether the demutualisation bandwagon is derailed or (following last year's negative vote at Nationwide) is gathering pace and dragging other societies along with it.B&B has pulled out all the stops to mobilise voters. On Monday, a six-week balloting exercise will come to an end at Bradford & Bingley Building Society. For weeks and months, as we struggle to decide one way or another over an issue, time elongates and appears to stand still Then, the sudden announcement: the people have decided Nothing will be the same again. THE WORKINGS of democracy have a curious effect on the passage of time.

The list price until 1998 was pounds 26,800 - which makes these possible blue-chip investments.. Just 93 were sold in the UK; now Oakfields (01256 760256) have two ultra-low mileage examples on sale for pounds 19,950 and pounds 21,950. Open topped, squat and sensational to look at, it was a French Lotus Elise, but not nearly as quick. Never mind, it became an instant classic. Then designer Patrick le Quement took the Williams engine and put it in the middle of the company's most outrageous product to date: the Renault Sport Spider. The Clio Williams, the Nineties' ultimate hot hatch, was one.