Syrian bombing

I was grateful for the words of Joan Rowley in last week’s Letters (19 April) about the hypocrisy of the UK government in bombing Syria for their use of chemical weapons while simultaneously selling arms that are killing countless people in Yemen.

I am also struck by the further hypocrisy of a government that is pushing a seemingly endless and increasingly brutal austerity agenda but is willing to spend an estimated £500,000 on the bidding of another government without even gaining the consent of its own.

Everyone agrees that using chemical weapons is abhorrent and must be condemned. However, there is no evidence that the UK airstrikes did anything at all to deter such activity and certainly they did nothing to help the Syrian people, who continue to suffer from the sustained violence.

We need long-term solutions to stop the war, not token, futile, yet expensive gestures to court favour with the US president.

In the Borders we feel the sharp end of the endless austerity, with one in four children here living in poverty. We are told by the Westminster government that such cuts are inevitable and cannot be avoided. They are unable to find the money to properly fund the NHS, to pay the pensions promised to Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi), or to help people with disabilities keep their heads above water.

When it comes to helping suffering people in our own country this government turns a blind eye. When it comes to dropping bombs, however, they have no qualms and no discussion is necessary. AIMEE SWARTZ-GLANCY

Tweedbank, Walkerburn