I AM much encouraged by growing opposition to the campaign to restrict, tax and even ban plastic bags (Daily Echo, March 15). Anti-bag activists play straight into the hands of New Labour, which is using the issue for its own short-term political advantage.

The fragility of Government action to impose punitive charges on plastic bags has been acknowledged by at least one minister, Joan Ruddock, who said: "We agree that there is no clear evidence that a tax levied on plastic bags would be beneficial on either broad environmental or litter grounds.'' Two weeks later a U-turn had been carried out when the minister stated, following an intervention from Gordon Brown, that carrier bags needed to be phased out because of the overall impact such a change would have on our throwaway' society.

Nor were bag taxes favoured by a former environment minister Ben Bradshaw, who was the architect of the voluntary industry agreement, which Mr Brown wants to abandon. In 2006 Bradshaw said: "There have been unforeseen consequences in the Irish experience (the plastic bag tax) including an increase in the use of paper bags, which are actually worse for the environment.'' TOM SPRING-SMYTH, Lyndhurst.