SIR — Readers may well have been surprised to see adverts from Amnesty International on billboards and in newspapers over recent weeks which highlight the role the Human Rights Act played in the Hillsborough inquest.

If you were surprised, you are not alone. A YouGov poll found that 70 per cent of people in the UK were not aware that the Human Rights Act was invoked at the inquest, which returned the verdict of unlawful killing of 96 football fans earlier this year.

The poll also found that 74 per cent of people questioned were unaware of the part played by the Human Rights Act in the Good Friday Peace Agreement which ended the troubles in Northern Ireland.

In view of the fact that the Act has been seriously misrepresented, it is not surprising that it is misunderstood.

Yet when relatives of the victims of the Hillsborough, and when victims of the troubles in Northern Ireland, are calling for the Human Rights Act to be retained, we and the Government should pay attention.

It is usually the last port of call when other avenues to justice have failed. We allow it to be scrapped at our peril.

Alison Dietz,

Amnesty International Minehead.