It's always great to get feedback and I really believe you can measure the success of local newspapers by the reaction they receive from their readers – and I’ve been inundated with emails, phone message and letters this week.

But, as London suffered its latest terror attack, it was mainly with messages and emails from a whole host of individuals and organisations keen to point out this horrific act was nothing to do with them.

Sending me such assurances is fine and, as I say, I’m always happy to hear from readers, but just in case I’ve missed the odd message please let me make a couple of assurances.

If you are writing to me with your details then I’m sure you’ve had nothing to do with this latest cowardly, hideous outrage against humanity.

I am also aware such barbaric, inhuman acts have nothing whatsoever to do with religion, race or even a divided society.

Perpetrators of such brutal attacks against innocent victims have chosen to hide behind religion for centuries and sought to gain the moral high ground by claiming their actions are justified by their cause.

In reality religion is just the excuse and the basis of their action is more fundamental – they seek to gain either power or wealth, or both. Ever has it been thus and nothing has changed.

As the ‘troubles’ raged in Northern Ireland each side espoused their various religious viewpoints.

But at the same time each side sought to control the wealth behind drugs, prostitution, money laundering and protection rackets. Even the glaziers were in on the action.

As is always the case the guys on the street, who carry out such atrocities, are purely puppets and the money men make sure to place a great distance between them and the ‘activists’.

In many cases the people who carry out the attacks may actually hold loftier, albeit misplaced, ideals but their strings are being pulled from elsewhere, by people who are driven instead by greed.

The latest terrorist attacks are a direct result of this most unpleasant of human traits and have their basis in the fact there is a large part of the world which has very little wealth and a smaller element which has all the wealth and seeks to control everything.

This doesn’t get us any closer to the answers, but surely no-one is still fooled into believing religion is the real reason for such attacks?