I AM writing in response to views expressed in the Times (August 18) Not surprisingly, we have all been appalled by the recent riots in London and many people have come up with ideas about the causes and what action should be taken. The Rev Philip Wagstaff in the Reflections column and Mel Stride MP both refer to the complexity of the situation and suggest that long term answers need to be found.

I believe that we have to look at the root cause of all our ills. David Cameron put his finger on it when he said that the young people lacked a father figure. Likewise, Prince Charles was reported as saying that the youth involved needed to feel that they belonged.

As a nation we are going through an identity crisis which has evolved over decades. In my view we have turned our back on the faith of our forefathers and in so doing have rejected Biblical Christianity.The notion that we are children of our heavenly Father has gone. We are lost !

The remedy can be found in the pages of the Bible. For starters how about this verse from the book of Isaiah chapter 53 verse 6 ?

'We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

 each of us has turned to his own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.' 

That is just the beginning.

V A Cushing

Okehampton