Too much foot-in-mouth

To The Daily Telegraph

There is kudos in admitting a mistake and backing down, as Philip Hammond has done. It means the Government has listened to the people and responded accordingly. It’s what we want politicians to do. Well done.

What I do question is the extent to which such decisions are discussed internally before being presented to the public. Was no dry run done to a panel for an opinion? Was no risk analyst consulted: “What is the risk to our reputation if we present this?” The public outrage should have been anticipated and a great deal of time and money saved. It was also reputationally very costly.

There seems to be a great deal of foot-in-mouth activity at present, and I would expect consultation before launching “great ideas” onto the public. Liz Laing, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire