Should we adopt Rees-Mogg’s style guide?

AS A pedant of the first order, I welcome Jacob Rees-Mogg’s new style guide for his Westminster office staff. When I joined the civil service 40 years ago, entrants were given a copy of Sir Ernest Gowers’s Plain Words, a guide to correct English usage. Sadly, that has been discontinued. M. LLOYD RICKETTS, London W5. AS SOMEONE who worked in Whitehall for years, may I put in a plea for Jacob Rees-Mogg to ban the meaningless words ‘diversity’ and ‘sustainability’. They seem to have to appear in every document and statement as a nod towards the obligatory political correctness. TED SHORTER, Tonbridge, Kent. IT’S refreshing that the new Leader of the House wants to clean up (grammatically) the act of his department. He could have added ‘everyone’ and ‘everybody’ are singular and banished that barbarism ‘sorted’ to mean ‘solved’ — I blame EastEnders. A stretch on the rack for broadcasters who insist on adding -ly to the end of ‘important’. Hanging, drawing and quartering for all those who can’t tell the difference between the passive voice and present participle of a verb. ‘We were sat round the table’ is fine only if an external force put you there, but what is usually meant is: ‘We were sitting round the table.’ And a mere flaying alive for all who pronounce ‘again’ to rhyme with ‘rain’, ‘ate’ with ‘eight’ and ‘says’ with ‘haze’. MEL CARTER, Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taff. SO, REES-MOGG ’as desided that propa Inglish must prevale in all ’is Westminsta documentashun. Let me tell you, Moggy mate, that if the likes of you ’ad look’d afta our teechers an’ state skools the likes of me an’ your Westminsta staff mite not ’ave needed your politikaly corect grammaticool instructshuns. TED HUNWICK, Southend-on-Sea, Essex.