Rights of those accused must not fall victim to this latest ‘moral panic’
SIR – Of late we seem to have had more than our fair share of “moral panics”. First there was the Jimmy Savile scandal, then Harvey Weinstein, and now Parliament is implicated.
Is this because the world is getting worse? I suspect not. It is, of course, absolutely right that wrongdoing is brought to the attention of the authorities. However, perhaps those responsible for recent exposés need to retain a balance between legitimate public interest and the rights of those who are accused but not yet proved guilty.
Rev Andrew Mcluskey
Staines-upon-thames, Middlesex
SIR – It was Thomas Babington Macaulay who first noted “the ludicrous spectacle of the British public in one of its periodical fits of morality”.
The cause that time was Lord Byron.
C J Driver
Northiam, East Sussex
SIR – If baby-boomers are to be judged by today’s standards for yesterday’s behaviour, how should the “snowflake generation” behave today to ensure that they have no problems tomorrow?
Rev Dr John Cameron
St Andrews, Fife
SIR – As a woman who worked for an MP in Parliament 15 years ago, I listened to Sir Roger Gale, the Conservative MP, on the BBC’S Today programme last Saturday with utter dismay.
To suggest that 15 years ago sexual harassment and abuse were more acceptable in Parliament shows a total absence of awareness.
Back then the floodgates were simply more tightly closed, and we young women knew it. We made sure our bodies were covered, avoided ever being in a lift, corridor or room alone with certain notorious MPS and remained silent when endless remarks were made about sexual conquests and jokes shared about female MPS.
We knew implicitly that we were powerless in this boys’ club, and too often felt like objects or ornaments. If the tide is turning on that culture then it’s to be celebrated, and Parliament will be all the better for it.
Caroline Robinson
Sheffield, South Yorkshire
SIR – I cannot be the only person who feels sad, and not a little depressed, that educated, responsible people working at the House of Commons should need, in 2017, to have a code of conduct drawn up for them in order to ensure their adherence to basic principles of human decency.
Katharine Lees-jones
Heathfield, East Sussex
SIR – It is right to condemn harassment in Westminster or elsewhere, whether verbal or physical.
However, can we please put this into perspective? Our Government and Parliament are engaged in Brexit, the most important national decision for decades. Many citizens desperately want MPS to get their priorities right.
Mac Fearnehough
Holmesfield, Derbyshire