Armed for battle over defence

A SPOOF tax rebate form is part of a new campaign by the World Development Movement, calling for conventional military spending to be partially re-directed towards social and economic measures.

Anyone completing the form is asked to forward it not to their tax office but instead to the Chancellor of the Exchequer via their local MP.

It is not clear how the Revenue would respond to this: 'On behalf of the world's poor, I hereby claim a tax rebate of pounds 50 as my first year's instalment from the pounds 42bn to be saved by halving the defence budget by the year 2000'.

Local groups of the WDM are holding an action day on 24 October, which will include mass signings of the form.