You are never too rich to be above the law The wonder of Wogan

THE Ghislaine Maxwell verdict should serve as a salutary lesson and warning to those rich and powerful people who believe they are above the law.

They are not free to do as they wish with impunity just because of the power they hold. DENNIS FORBES GRATTAN,

Aberdeen. GHISLAINE MAXWELL is likely to spend the rest of her life incarcerated in the U.S.

Meanwhile, our Parole Board is considering the early release of 92 terrorists whose intentions were to kill and maim innocent men, women and children.

GERRY DOYLE, Liverpool. NOW the Maxwell trial is over, I assume the TV mini-series will soon be in production.

JOHN WARD, Spalding, Lincs. FOLLOWING the verdict in the Maxwell case, attorney Damian Williams said it proves no one is above the law. Except wives of foreign diplomats who knock down and kill motorcyclists in Britain and then scurry back to the U.S. to avoid facing justice.

R. JOSE, Feltwell, Norfolk.

Show did go on

THANKS to the Daily Mail for tickets to see the pantomime Dick Whittington at Wimbledon Theatre. I took my daughter and two great-grandchildren, and we all really enjoyed the show.

The cast was so depleted due to Covid that some of the main characters had to be replaced at the last minute — one stand-in even had a script in their hand.

Congratulations to all concerned for their efforts in following the famous theatre motto ‘the show must go on’ and not cancelling the performance.

W. M. WYATT, Carshalton, Surrey.

Selling our soul

I AM disheartened to read about the number of companies being bought out by foreign private equity predators (Mail). Wake up,

Britain, before we lose the wonderful wealth of entrepreneurship and innovation that has been the bedrock of our economy.

D. BUCKLEY, Shaftesbury, Dorset.

Giving Worzel the bird

I CAN’T believe the BBC has received complaints about Worzel Gummidge (Mail). What has happened to the British sense of humour? The show was a bit of light relief in a week of repeats.

E. COMMON, Hornchurch, Essex. A NOTE to snowflake parents offended by Worzel Gummidge: Blue-footed boobies and penduline tits are real birds, though not native to Britain.

Round our neck of the woods, choughed, or chuffed, means to be pleased. I suggest any innuendo is in the minds of those who seek to be offended.

JOHN CHURCH, Derby. I’VE always been delighted by the robin red breasts and blue tits we see in hedgerows and gardens. How can anyone be offended by these names? Parents should be teaching their children not to be as narrow-minded as they are.

MIKE DAVEY, Castle Bromwich, W. Mids.

No blame game

A READER blames their grandchildren for giving them Covid, ruining their Christmas (Letters). I am triple jabbed and self-isolating with mild cold symptoms after testing positive.

True, my beloved granddaughter was the first to fail a lateral flow test after two magical days with me at Christmas. But I certainly don’t blame her.

My family followed all the rules meticulously and took lateral flow tests before visiting. The joy of spending time together outweighed a small risk of infection.

We have to learn to live with this virus, as we live with the common cold and influenza. VALERIE GOODCHILD,

Bangor, Co. Down. THE front page of my local newspaper carried a story that Liverpool’s two largest hospitals had stated they didn’t have any more intensive care beds available and were cancelling all non-urgent operations for the foreseeable future as another NHS winter crisis began.

The article was dated December 28, 1996.

PETER FISHER, Liverpool.

Sunk by regulation

SOME of the Covid regulations imposed in Wales are ridiculous.

I am a regular swimmer at the leisure centre. The pool is open but, to my amazement, all of the changing room lockers have been taped shut.

The reception staff advised me to leave my clothes and valuables in the changing room or take them poolside. Who accepts liability if someone helps themselves to my wallet or car keys? I won’t be able to have a swim until restrictions are lifted. Welcome to Wales.

Name supplied, Cardiff. FIRST Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford is playing politics with draconian anti-Covid measures. Not only are they unnecessary, they are contradictory.

My wife’s WI branch, who are all triple jabbed, can’t hold their January meeting in a large community hall because they have 50 members. But they could squeeze into a pub as long as they stick to six people to a table. MALCOLM SAMUELS,

Llanelli, Carms.

Pension pay-back

SADLY, my 90-year-old mother died on November 19. Her last years were spent in a nursing home and her house had to be sold to pay £60,000 for her care.

Six days after her funeral, I received a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions debt management centre informing me £84 had been incorrectly paid into her bank account.

This was the part of her state pension for the rest of the month after she had died. I wonder how many benefit fraudsters are pursued with such alacrity. CHRISTOPHER E. DEVINE, Upton-by-Chester, Cheshire.

Spell of madness

THE campaign to clear the names of Scottish witches from the 16th to 18th centuries is a terrible waste of time and money.

What good can a pardon and apology do for the victims of witch-hunts? We already know all those people were innocent because witchcraft is not real.

EMILIE McRAE, Trowbridge, Wilts.

C5’S TRIBUTE to Terry Wogan suggested he’s best remembered for his TV career, but I beg to differ.

Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, if you were stuck in a traffic jam on the commute to work, you could see the drivers and passengers in every other vehicle had tears in their eyes.

It wasn’t because they were upset at yet another traffic holdup, but because they were laughing so much at Wogan on his Radio 2 breakfast show trying to maintain his composure while regaling us with Janet & John’s latest adventure.

There was no better way to start the working day.

LEE TUCKER, Truro, Cornwall.