MADAM,

As so many of your readers have commented on my recent letter regarding the true position of Monmouthshire and Newport, and particularly why there are signs in two locations welcoming visitors to Wales, that I thought the best way to answer some of the questions would be to quote from the letter sent me by the Welsh Office on 30 June 1998, Ref T35122-98:

"The Local Government Act 1972 abolished the administrative county of Monmouthshire and the county borough of Newport which until they were legally part of England. The definition of Wales in that Act was fully debated prior to the legislation receiving Royal Assent in 1972.

"On 1st April 1996 the old eight counties and 37 districts were abolished in favour of 22 unitary authorities. On this date Gwent ceased to exist and the pre-1974 county of Monmouthshire was restored" Yet our road signs still show "Gwent". Why?

"You will also wish to note that the Government has no plans to hold a referendum in the county of Monmouthshire on whether it should become part of England."

In order to check the nature of the debate I contacted the House of Commons Information Office and later obtained a copy of the Official Report of Standing Committee D for Session 19712, pages 2632 and 2633 dated 14th March 1972.

Here it is noted that subsequent to a discussion among themselves, with no reference whatsoever to historical facts, after Mr Thomas had made a long speech about Welsh culture, Mr Gibson-Watt stated: "... A corresponding provision has been made in Clause 1 to exclude Monmouthshire and Newport from England for the purpose of Clause 1 Schedule 1..."

Later Hansard made clear that no debate had taken place in Parliament which meant that I was told a direct lie by the Welsh Office which is among a number of other relevant matters concerning Monmouth now being pursued by others, including the Municipal Charter granted to the town by Edward VI, son of Henry VIII, to restore certain rights to this ancient English borough which were almost extinguished by his father.

Don Stroud

Beaufort Road,

Osbaston,

Monmouth