I really don't see the problem with banning hoodies from shopping centres. It is no different to the dress codes enforced by bars and clubs up and down the country in an attempt to control the clientele they wish to attract.  No one complains bars are discriminating against jeans-wearers or implying all jeans wearers are thugs or in some way inferior beings if their dress code states "no jeans".  The practicalities of the issue are what is important and banning hoodies is no different to banning the wearing of motorcycle helmets in shops etc.  It's about people not being able to conceal their identity and while its a cack-handed way to start dealing with the problem at least it is a start. The good kids out there will soon realise they don't want to wear their hoodies anymore anyway if they are to be perceived as "chav scum". Claire Whitehouse, Sedgley

We shouldn't be adding to the exclusion that these teenagers already feel, we need to embrace them in our communities. This is a generation that possibly hasn't known or seen any future, and alienating them by stating that their attire is wrong only adds to their view that they don't belong in society. Don't alienate them even more- just deal with the criminals.Educate them - something that sadly has been missed along the line. Fiona Edwards, Southport

I am a 16-year-old boy, and if I wanted to go to an expensive restaurant wearing a hoody, I would expect to be turned away. Bluewater shopping centre is private property- why shouldn't they ban certain clothes? Nobody forces us to shop there and if you feel that the ban is an affront to civil liberties, simply refuse to shop there. Economic pressure will surely then force the Bluewater centre to repeal the ban. Unless of course, as I think is likely, the people who complain are a minority and most would feel more comfortable in a hoody-free enviroment. Michael Slater, Devizes

It is not the clothes that are objectionable, but the behaviour of certain people who wear them. I for one am sick to death of having my life made miserable by children who have absolutely no regard or respect for the wellbeing of others. Well done the management of Bluewater for highlighting this problem. I dread to think how the next generation of children will behave. Name and address withheld

I have two young daughters, aged eight and 13. Naturally they enjoy shopping and like most of their friends they like to dress fashionably. This sometimes means they wear hoods and sometimes wear them when shopping. Do the Government feel that this makes them more likely to behave like yobs and would Bluewater prefer them to stop shopping? Name and address withheld

As an independent retailer, I have to say that I feel that Bluewater have taken necessary and appropriate action. Tenants pay huge rents and service charges for their premises. Young peeople walking in gangs have intimidated shoppers in our centre for a number of years, yet the landlord says they cannot discriminate against them. In saying this, I feel they are discriminating against the tenants, who pay their wages. Shoppers who have felt intimidated over the years have voted with their feet and shop elsewhere - the whole town is suffering as a consequence of this. So as dictatorial as it may sound, Bluewater have clear economic reasons for this decision and I applaud their management for dealing with the problem and not burying their heads in the sand. Paulette Morris, High Wycombe

This is the nanny state gone mad. Whatever next - a ban on short skirts? Or maybe teenage girls should cover up with a burka. What happened to freedom of choice? This is not a Government issue. The solution is some old fashioned policework with police officers on patrol in places such as these. Only then will people feel confident going about their daily business. Mike Rimmer, El Cajun, USA

I'm 15-years-old  and 6ft 3 inches tall. I wear hoodies and stuff but it doesn't have to mean that I am some sort of thug. Clothing does play a very large part in this, and I understand why Bluewater are taking this action against hoods, but there are nice people out there who aren't "chavs". As for not hanging around in groups, what on earth are we allowed to do these days? Surely this is like what China did to Christian gatherings. We are hated because of a small minority of stupid, immature children. Please consider when you call us "ferrel youth" and talk about how we "drink alchohol and then intimidate people" that we are not all like that. Dan Chant, Kingsbridge

I support the move by Bluewater and hopefully more shopping centres will impose similar bans. Youngsters who wear hooded sweatshirt tops are intimidating, especially to the elderly. Tony Blair supports what Bluewater have done - yet it is because the law has become too lenient where discipline in the home and school is concerned that these "yobs" feel they can get away with this sort of behaviour. Beryl Israel, London

Where will bans on caps, hats (top, rain or otherwise) stop? How could the measure be enforced? No, a baseball cap ban is not feaseable. But the "hoodie" ban in shopping centres and other shops which make use of CCTV for security and customer protection purposes, is a good move. A "hoodie" wearer with nothing to hide should not be troubled by pulling back their hood when shopping in places which are "out of the weather". Terry Morgan, Southampton

I believe that the ban on hoodies and baseball caps seems a bit excessive - they are only an item of clothing. I am 14-years-old and I know that people wearing them may seem menacing to the elderly, but I occasionally wear hoodies as they are comfortable and I would not class myself as a menacing person. If you suggest that people who wear hoodies and baseball caps are up to no good, you are labelling half the country. Nick Banks, Northampton

I am a 79-year-old partially disabled man and, yes, I do feel threatened when I am approached by a cluster of youths with hooded faces and large upturned collars. Stuart Benyon, High Wycombe

Is the problem hoodies or the fact that the kids wear the hoods up?  I, like many, play a lot of sport at the weekends, and may pop into shops wearing such casualwear before or after events. What would happen at Bluewater? Hoodies are worn by most students at some point in the week. Surely they are going to have to target a large proportion of the sub-25yr market who like to dress down at weekends?  It seems far too broad a ban I think.  Although a ban of sorts is obviously necessary. Lucy Adam, Cambridge

The wearing of hoods is merely a symptom, not the disease. The debate ought to be about the inadequacy of legal systems to deal with offenders at the criminal or public order level and the standards of behaviour that are deemed acceptable in the parental and school settings.  Is the balance between rights and responsibilities not a little skewed in favour of the former? Edward Johns, La Roche Derrien

Surely everyone who has seen youths parading round with hoods disguising their faces has come to the same conclusion: these youths wish to convey the impression that they're wanted men, whereas most often they're nothing like that. It's an aspect of macho culture, but it can be discouraged in the same way that motor-cyclist messengers are discouraged from entering business premises with their crash-helmets and visors in position. We need first to deprive the hooded youths of access to private property such as shopping malls -with the absolutely mandatory assurance that the police will promptly back up property-owners who do impose this reasonable restriction. Legislation would be needed to prohibit masked persons from parading in public thoroughfares, but it should not be beyond the capacity of parliament to bring in such legislation as a matter of urgency. J L A Hartley, London

I'd say most people have got this the wrong way round. Bluewater is not saying that most people who wear hoodies are thugs, they're saying most thugs wear hoodies - and there's a difference. Jo Makinen, Nottingham

It is deeply disturbing that not only can a conglomeration of businesses be this discriminatory and hateful towards young people, but that Blair and his bumbling deputy are prepared to feed this discrimination. The children of this country have their freedom of movement and association controlled by curfews and ASBOs (guilty of criminal activity or not), are told their exams are too easy, that they don't attend school, they take too many drugs and drink, are stupidly sex-mad, and certainly shouldn't attempt to demonstrate their distaste for political machinations. Now they are being told what they can and cannot wear. This ongoing criminalisation and demonisation of the youth of this nation is not only horrible to see, highly damaging to all our civil liberties, and will alienate our children further making them more 'intimating' to people like Mr Prescott and Mr Blair. Surely its not that long ago that you were boys! M McGhee, London

It's about time that the yob culture is tackled. I see no reason to wear hoddies indoors. It's the rights of the majority to feel safe that is important, not the right of the minority who feel they have to hide their identities that has to be considered. Barry Henderson, Tonbridge

It is obvious that those people who are aghast at the idea of young people's civil liberties being removed have never come into any real contact with gangs wearing baseball caps and hoodies (often worn together, so obscuring the face). They are certainly extremely intimidating, and I would feel much more comfortable coming into contact with gangs when I can see their faces - it humanises them as well as making them identifiable on CCTV. Yes, it's a fashion, and there will be upset caused to these people, but surely safety for shoppers is more important? And I'm 17, the same age as these "yobs". Kate Holland, Heathfield

I think shopping centres should be able to set a code of conduct. I find the people who ridicule this, are the very people who complain about there being a lack of respect. It's a pity some parents do not set a code of conduct within their own family. Name and address withheld

It's playing into the hands of the hoodies. It will now become even more of a rebellious fashion against an overbearing state. P. M., Oxford

I understand the reluctance of many young people to accept the possibility that certain clothing, actions or attitudes which they adopt in a group might be banned; we were all young once. We do have to acknowledge however that when anything becomes universally recognisable as a symbol to be feared - be it a hooded jacket or a swastika - it makes social sense to avoid wearing or using that item. I have witnessed street crime and situations which make me fear crime might be a possibility. I don't want to stroll through a shopping centre continually checking if a group of youths are liable to involve me in some sort of incident. This has to be balanced against the fact that I sometimes wear a hooded tracksuit jacket when I am out jogging and I am no threat to anyone. It is the 'tribal' grouping of these guys - reinforced by the wearing of any sort of uniform - that generates the fear. Keith Downer, London

I can’t help thinking that the idea of banning these hooded tops is looking at the problem from the wrong angle. If a large enough number of white middle class, middle aged men took to wearing them en mass, they would instantly loose any credibility as fashion items with young people who would then move on to the next, hopefully less intimidating fad. Ian Edge, Warrington

Retailers should not allow face-covering headwear to  be worn inside their shop. Neither the age, sex or religion of person should affect this rule. Honest people are not afraid to be seen. V Hunnisett, Coventry

Something should be done certainly but restricting what people wear does not make sense. What if these youths decide to return to the shopping centre attired in dark glasses and leather jackets? Anne Ince-Vize, Whetstone

I'd like to address this point by relating an experience I had overseas. I had always viewed Chile as a "fascist state" and was relatively unmoved when I was asked to work their briefly last year. However, having travelled to Santiago from Brazil, I was amazed by the feeling of calm, order, civility and good nature I found. Police officers, often on horseback, look like they're modelling for a coin or banknote. Yet they were polite, reassuring and friendly to a fault. The contrast with other Latin American countries was, in a word: staggering. Here in the UK, we are going to have to decide what our priorities are: freedom for freedom's sake (freedom to make it hard work for the authorities to identify offences and offenders), or freedom from care (in Latin, se cura - or in English, "security"). I prefer the latter and would be perfectly content to see police and security personnel empowered to remove hooded garments, scarves or other identity-concealing items at will. J C Hart, Leicester

Why on earth attack a fashion fad, affecting thousands, and ignore the causes of antisocial behaviour which the government is responsible for and should do something about? Richard Groves, Swindon

If CCTV is to be effective as a deterrant to criminal or anti-social behaviour, then it follows logically that all forms of clothing that hide ones face should be banned. However,  one then has to be careful that this should not be construed as religious descrimination as it is presumed that this will not be extended to the burkha or yashmak. Michele Montgonery-Ryan, Haywards Heath

This "hoodie" practice is part of the "gangsta" culture from the USA. Its just another disregard of authority that the media, and in particular the music industry, has glorified for money. British children are now even speaking "gangsta-style" and are emulating the bad-boy atitudes of their rap heroes. This kind of popularism, coupled with the weak and over-protective atitudes towards freedom of both the British Government and the parents, is to blame for this epidemic. Terry Anderson, Rugby

Dress codes for shoppers?  Perhaps I misread the news, but I didn't think Oswald Mosley won the recent election. Jeff Myhre, New York

This country is suffering from a plague akin to locusts: in every town and city across the country, unemployed oafs, totally lacking in discipline, are making many peoples lives intolerable. Most of them are the products of broken homes and rotten parents no doubt, but they have been through an education system that is palpably failing. Benefit should not available to anyone under the age of twenty one. A useful form of work should be undertaken by all school leavers, and punishment needs to be draconian enough to deter these thugs. They can be stopped - and saved - if the political will is there. Katherine Langton, Chorley

Whatever are they going to ban next? It should be a common right for everybody to wear what ever they like. It seems strange that that are no complaints against the police being hooded up when they attend events? I think that our forefathers died in vain when they fought for freedoms in this country which simply don't exist anymore. John Wren, Plymouth

Whilst the wearing of certain types of clothing may indicate membership of a gang or similar organisation, we should not judge people by their appearance but by their action. Women followers of Islam wearing the Burka and Christian nuns and monks are, on the face of it, excluded from this shopping experience. Robert Keogh, Derby

Why are just hoodies and caps banned? Why not beanie caps - or headscarves? In my local club, I am not allowed to wear a hat of any kind, and I am possibly the least threatening person you could ever come across. If this move was really for security, it would include all headgear. In my opinion, it is just a way of removing groups from a shopping centre who are perceived to have less money. Kerry Garman, Colchester

While most people will largely agree with Mr.Blair's concerns with public behaviour, to us in India, it is unthinkable that in a liberal society like the UK a dress code is enforced by a shopping centre and endorsed by the Prime Minister. Is this a reflection of a future gated society, which excludes citizens either by virtue of their income levels, ethnic backbround or manner of dress? British law and tolerance is idealised by many societies - is this ban is the beginning of a reverse process? Ranjit Mitra, Delhi, India

The debate about hoods is simple and sadly far too many readers miss the point. No one wants to ban this form of clothing or any other. What I want to ban is the thugs who go around in gangs or large groups and cause trouble and damage and happen to wear this type of apparel. I am no Labour supporter or fan of John Prescott, but he is quite right on this one. George Andrew Fox, Windsor

Just as expected the ultra sensitives demonstrate their inability to relate to the real world. It is obvious that they have never been subjected to the anti social behaviour that these,in themselves, innocemt items of clothing empower some of the wearers to indulge in. Spare us from the blather of the innocents. Let the yobs see that we can be one step ahead of them for once. Ronald Reece, Blackmore

I find it surprising that nobody has yet mentioned the "mods and rockers" or those intimidating "punks" that brought so much media attention in their era. Spreading fear throughout the older generation is what youth culture is all about - get some backbone, you are making yourself a target. Name and address withheld

Worried about "goons" in hoods?  Do what I do in North London.  Swagger past them in a military manner.  The only responses I've had are 'Wow!' and 'No, don't say anything' - and shocked silence.  Why?  These are boys, not men.  When they see a man who acts like a man they know who's boss - and behave accordingly.  It's not about 'respect'.  It's about order and discipline - and the individual nerve, courage and confidence to enforce these in the street, in schools, in the home and everywhere else. I do. Terry Daly, London

Please complete the form below and your contribution will be considered for publication. It may be necessary to edit your comments. Wherever possible we would like you to include your name, address and e-mail. Priority will be given to e-mails providing these details.