'We must respect each other's views' (From Warrington Guardian)

'We must respect each other's views'

FORMER hostage Terry Waite used the Warrington Male Voice Choir's charity tour of the Isle of Man to deliver a stark warning to world leaders in the wake of terror attacks in the UK.

Speaking during an address for Songs Of Praise, Mr Waite, who spent five years as a political prisoner in Beirut, urged leaders to 'work together' and to 'respect other's views' in order to achieve peace and reconciliation.

Mr Waite, who went to school in Warrington and whose sister Diana still lives in the town, was captured in 1987 while working as a personal envoy to the Archbishop of Canterbury.

During his time in captivity, he was kept chained and blindfolded in solitary confinement and transported from prison to prison via car boots, freezers, pipes and boxes.

In his capacity as patron of the choir, Mr Waite accompanied the choristers on their highly acclaimed tour.

Speaking in an interview for the BBC programme, he said: "I have always said that if we 'have' to go to war, we should make it an absolute last resort, and only after the weapons inspectors have been allowed to do their work.

"We are all aware that when you remove a dictator you automatically unleash a set of circumstances, and that the principal casualties are invariably innocent women and children.

"We have to recognise that there are fanatics in every major religion and that these men have used Iraq as a means to recruit impressionable young men, with tragic consequences."

He added: "We must learn from these experiences to ensure that we work together while respecting each others views and living in harmony.

"You have to take that message away and learn from it to achieve peace and reconciliation."

Mr Waite became an active patron of the choir in 1995 in a bid to 'create something tangible' from the IRA bombing of Warrington and unite the town.

He regularly accompanies the choir to performances, and together they have visited numerous prisons across the UK and Ireland.