LETTERS

Hammond’s folly

CHANCELLOR Philip Hammond keeps telling us we must go for a Soft Brexit in the EU negotiations.

But if we go into these talks waving a white flag, we will only get the same laughable offer that David Cameron did. Many people seem to think that if we have to settle for a Hard Brexit — i.e. no deal — we must stop trading with EU countries.

Of course we don’t. If import duties are imposed, both sides will have to pay, and in the unlikely event that this happens, it might actually be in our financial interest.

GEOFFREY WOODS, Watford, Herts. MIGHT I respectfully advise Mr Hammond that I voted to Leave on the clear understanding I would be poorer and less secure. That is the calculated price we must pay for independence and freedom.

PETER COCKS, Ledbury, Herefordshire. IF YOU are confused by the terms Hard and Soft Brexit, here is an explanation. Hard Brexit means we leave the single market and customs union, singing and dancing, and rely on Word Trade Organisation rules for our trade with the EU.

Soft Brexit means we leave the single market and customs union weeping and begging the EU to be nice to us and give us access to their markets provided we allow a few more EU nationals into the country. WIKTOR MOSZCZYNSKI,

London W5.

Banking on failure

SENIOR staff have been charged with fraud after they strived to save Barclays following the 2008 financial crisis (Mail).

They succeeded, and I expect customers and shareholders were very thankful for that. By contrast, I wonder what the account holders of Northern Rock, Lloyds and RBS must be thinking?

And how about the taxpayers who ultimately bore the cost of saving these institutions?

The Serious Fraud Office penalises success and condones failure, but waits nine years to do so.

W.M. BELL, Wilmslow, Cheshire.

Shirty rebellion

THE boys wearing skirts to school as a protest against not being allowed to wear shorts in hot weather (Mail) brought to mind an incident that occurred while I was a pupil at Deanery Secondary Modern School, Southampton.

A group of lads were admonished by the headmaster for not wearing school ties and told they would be punished if they turned up the next day without them.

The following day at assembly, they all proudly sported new school ties — but not one of them had a shirt on. Their excuse when challenged was that they had only been told to wear ties.

BRIAN LIVING, West Moors, Dorset.

Is Cowell cashing in?

INSTEAD of Simon Cowell, in a shameless piece of self-promotion, rounding up so-called pop stars to ruin a classic song to raise money for the survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire, wouldn’t it have been more charitable of them all to anonymously donate £50,000 of their own money?

KENNY ALLEN, Newton Abbot, Devon.

Not heaven scent

HOW I remember the ‘ oh- sopungent’ Eighties perfumes (Mail).

I once worked for a company where the receptionist wore an extremely heady perfume that knocked out staff and visitors at 20 paces.

A man walked in one day and asked her: ‘ What’s that perfume you’re wearing?’ She replied haughtily: ‘It’s Estee Lauder Youth Dew.’

He replied: ‘ How much is that? Tuppence a gallon?’ Yes, once smelled, never forgotten.

ADELE DARBYSHIRE, Preston.

Let’s try again, voters

I AM unhappy with the result of the Election. It might be democracy in action, but clearly the great British public did not understand what they were voting for.

They were never offered the choice of a Hard or a Soft manifesto. Now we know the new Government’s plans through the Queen’s Speech, should we not be having another Election to give the people a second chance to vote the way I think they should have done in the first place?

STEVE ADAMS, Whitley Bay, Tyne & Wear.

Siege of Downing Street

AS A young woman, I worked in Downing Street for six weeks, being taught the skills of a ‘departmental lady’ at the Foreign Office — the term ‘secretary’ was already taken for a much higher position — before being sent to an embassy abroad.

Every morning, I took the Underground to Westminster and then walked through Downing Street right past No 10, the best-known address in the world.

I would wave to the constable