EVERYONE would be glad to see an end to the violence and killing of innocent people in Syria.

However, recent reports that US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and UK foreign secretary William Hague have been “increasing pressure” on Russia and China not to use their vetoes at the UN must surely plumb the depths of sanctimonious hypocrisy.

Whenever attempts have been made to curb the excesses and atrocities committed by Israel, who is it that uses its veto to prevent any action being taken?

There has also been criticism by Mrs Clinton of the supply of arms by Russia to Syria, but who is the largest supplier of arms in the world?

It was recently announced that arms sales by the US had already exceeded $50bn this year, an increase of $20bn on 2011, a constant flow of it going to Israel and used to kill Palestinians – yet nothing is done.

These hypocritical double-standards are nauseating yet when I raised the Israel/Palestine tragedy with David Cameron at one of his surgeries, and complained at the apparent reluctance of the UK to actually take any positive action through fear of upsetting Washington, he told me, to my utter amazement and extreme disappointment, he “tended to support Israel”.

So what hope is there?

GORDON CLACK, Witney Road, Ducklington