GERMANY'S decision to support the Airbus programme is great news for Airbus Industries, particularly employees in Toulouse, France.

The benefits of this for the employees of the Bae Systems at Warton and Samlesbury are somewhat negligible, as only Samlesbury has any dealings with Airbus Industries and that work is limited to leading edge technology on the front of wings for these aircraft.

Both Samlesbury and Warton are military aircraft divisions and while the situation for their employees has not been made better by the German government's positive decisions, it has been made worse by our own government decision to scrap the Sea Harrier fighter plane.

Currently, upgrade work -- rather like the MoT service of a car -- is carried out at Bae Systems' Warton site and workers who look after MInistry of Defence aircraft, of which the Sea Harrier is one, are employed in their thousands within the customer support facilitity at Samlesbury and the Government has yet again put their jobs at great risk.

ROGER WILLIAM LIVESEY (BAe Systems, Warton employee), Briery Hey, Clayton Brook, Chorley.