Dear Sir/Madam,

I agree with Anton La Guardia in Saturday's Telegraph that the recent arrival of Milosevic at The Hague is (hopefully) a milestone in the development of international law and justice and an important step on the way to establishing a permanent International Criminal Court (International justice is also going on trial, 30 June 2001).

However, if the ICC is to realise its huge potential for good in the world, its motto will need to be the same as that inscribed above the entrance to the United States Supreme Court:

EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW - meaning, in its new context, that no government is above the law.

The trouble is, every nation has committed war crimes of one sort or another, including Britain and America.

But we cannot expect the Serbs, for example, to face up to the crimes committed by their former leaders if we are not prepared to do the same (Serbs refuse to confront guilt of the violent years, 30 June 2001).

I hope there isn't, but if, for example, there were sufficient evidence to suggest that Mrs Thatcher, during the Falkland crisis, ordered the sinking of the Belgrano for political ends, then she too should be a future candidate for The Hague. Her fervent opposition to the extradition of Pinochet suggests that she may well have reason to fear justice.

If we insist on having double standards, we can forget the ICC.

We also need to face up to the war crimes committed by Britain in past wars, even though the wars themselves may have been justified. That would also make us more credible when today we condemn others for acts of terrorism that it once suited us to commit and justify as "legitimate" acts of war.