Our prisons are not just overcrowded, they are full. So full that the government is reducing sentences to make room. Reducing sentences is increasing the incentive to commit crimes. So any space given to foreign criminals will increase our crime rate. Brian Gilbert, Hampton
Why should we waste much needed money on things that don’t concern us. Money that can be better spent on other more pressing matters, such as the NHS for example. Mr Charles Taylor has not committed a crime against Britain and therefore should be imprisoned in Britain. Greg White, Atherton
The war crimes tribunal is funded internationally. Is there any reason why the costs associated with putting Charles Taylor in prison in the UK could not be funded the same way? If this happens, then I don’t have a problem with him being in this country, otherwise he should be handed over to the Liberian authorities who should do with him as they will. David Leslie, Crieff
Another waste of taxpayers money just to parade this government’s concern for the third world. A sentence served in a cushy UK prison would not put these people off one iota. Derek Sinclair, Dundee
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I don’t think Charles Taylor should be imprisoned. He is still respected in Liberia and is very well connected. He would be of use to Shell, BP, and many other British companies. Why waste money on imprisoning him, when we can profit from his knowledge? Name and address withheld
New Labour loves internationalist posturing but never cares about the consequences. Charles Taylor is just one of thousands of African criminals who will never be properly punished by their own countries (death being the sanction of choice) because of internationalist sensibilities (liberal precocity actually). In effect we will turn him into just another asylum seeker running away from the harsh justice that he so richly deserves to lie in luxury in British jails watching Big Brother and complaining to his human rights lawyer about whatever takes his fancy, all at our expense. For whom is this justice? Certainly not his victims, and most certainly not the British taxpayer. Michael Salt, Norwich
So yet again the UK taxpayer is asked to shell out for another nice little Blairite idea to impress the world. Never mind in the true tradition of the UK prison service he’ll be out in a few months after protesting about the infringement of his human rights in our overcrowded prisons and with a nice big compensation cheque. Carole Tyrrell, London
So, the former president of Liberia, Mr Charles Taylor, is to be jailed in Britain, if found guilty of war crimes when tried by a court in the Netherlands. Whom do they propose to release early before completion of sentence, in order to make room for him? Ian Huntley? Geoffrey Smith, Droylsden, Manchester
£70,000 a year to keep him in prison and then add on the costs to keep his extended family. For they have the right to visit him in prison and should therefore be housed and kept so they can exercise that right. Do we really have to start importing warlords, dictators etc? So that when they get early release (as they surely will the way the system is presently run) they will claim asylum. This just shows that we are governed by a bunch of idiots! Mark Waddell, Hayes
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