We must face it: our freedoms have been taken away with no end in sight to this emergency
SIR – When the Supreme Court last year held Boris Johnson’s Conservative administration to account for the tactical prorogation of Parliament, some protesting against the Government described it as “fascist”. I thought this absurd at the time.
In March this year, the Government authorised the largest curtailment of British freedoms since Cromwell. We were told that extreme measures were justified by a public emergency; that measures would be temporary; that our rights would be protected; and that – above all – this was to save lives.
Today, as the Government clings on to our stolen freedoms, we are led to believe that this “emergency” might never be over. Temporary measures stretch into the realm of permanence.
Our rights are discarded – such as the right of the accused to trial by jury, or our right to see the Government held to account and legislation scrutinised in Parliament. There are lists and registers, and talk of badges to indicate our status in public. One has the distinct impression that – above all – this has become about saving face and maintaining control.
This is how fascism takes hold. I didn’t believe it last year; I certainly didn’t believe it could come from the man who fought for Brexit and who has long championed British liberty. Nevertheless, here we are.
Iwan Price-evans
Croydon, Surrey
SIR – My sons may play golf, but their children may not play cricket. Cinema buffs will soon be permitted to indulge their passion, but there is still nothing for us live-theatre lovers.
Coronavirus has become a bureaucrat’s paradise, with our supposedly libertarian Prime Minister as its chief cheerleader.
Michael Brotherton
Chippenham, Wiltshire
SIR – Those who are unhappy about Boris Johnson’s leadership during the coronavirus crisis would do well to remember that Jeremy Corbyn might have been Prime Minister.
Bernard Kerrison
London SW4
SIR – Let me get this clear. I can eat myself silly, drink myself legless and sit in a dark, still cinema, but may not visit my light, airy gym for exercise or Pilates to maintain my health.
My granddaughters may go to a theme park, the beach and the zoo, but they may not hug me in a sunny garden or go to school for their educational, psychological or social benefit, even though they are the least likely to have the virus or to transmit it.
Which bureaucrat thinks up these illogical rules? I live in an area where there have been no cases for a week, and only 82 cases in all. I resent being treated like an unintelligent fool.
And who is the Government to tell me how to be sensible and manage risk when I have been doing that for more than 70 years?
Anne Passman
Wembury, Devon
SIR – From July 4 people will be allowed to congregate in bars and restaurants. They gather on beaches in their hundreds.
Why may they not sit outside and watch live theatre?
The beautiful Minack Theatre in Cornwall sits on a cliff top, where the sea breezes should deal with any virus. A quick decision is needed – the summer won’t last forever
Anne Leggett
Woking, Surrey
SIR – Having read the appalling rules for entering a public house as of July, as far as I’m concerned, they continue to remain closed.
John Kennedy
Hornchurch, Essex
SIR – As I cannot abide cigarette smoke, and the accumulated detritus that seems to collect where smokers exist, I have effectively been barred from most pub gardens for the past 13 years.
With the resumption of drinking outside pubs, can I hope that a blanket ban on smoking in their gardens will allow me to participate, or will I still be barred because of the selfishness of the smoking fraternity?
Iain Baird
Buckie, Moray
SIR – The Government has now given consent for people to drink in a pub in proximity to others, as well as to get a haircut, but it has ignored those, like myself, whose only form of exercise is swimming, owing to disabilities. After three months of being quarantined, my physical and mental welfare is now being seriously affected. Have we got our priorities right?
Robert Wilkey
Shipston-on-stour, Warwickshire
SIR – Why are Andy and Jamie Murray and their friends allowed to play tennis indoors and the rest of us are not?
William Stogdon
Budleigh Salterton, Devon
SIR – I presume the reason for banning cricket during the pandemic is that the fielders all touch the same ball.
If the ball has to be cleaned each over, perhaps the bowler could do the trick using a piece of sandpaper. Peter Hood
Stroud, Gloucestershire