Winston fought for our freedom to lambast him

JOHN McDONNELL should not be condemned for calling Winston Churchill a ‘villain’ (Mail).

for many people around the world, calling their leaders far less than that would mean imprisonment or even death.

freedom of speech is the cornerstone of democracy, a right the Labour Party fails to support in Russia, China, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Zimbabwe and Yemen. Does anyone ever emigrate to any of these countries?

Yes, the West is far from perfect, but it has given John McDonnell and his followers the freedom denied to so many others. JAMES WIGNALL, Accrington, Lancs. WINSTON CHURCHILL had his faults but, like all great men, his achievements far outweighed his mistakes.

John McDonnell should be careful in revisiting the distant past, otherwise historians may decide to list the mistakes that Labour leaders have made since the war.

And Labour is still doing it over Brexit, by showing it couldn’t care less what the country ends up with because it is more concerned with getting the keys to No 10.

JOHN EVANS, Wokingham, Berks. SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL was a magnificent national hero and should always be regarded as such — even by obnoxious McDonnell.

P. ROBERTS, Wrexham, clwyd. UNLESS free speech and free thinking has been outlawed, John McDonnell has no reason to apologise to anyone.

Sir Winston was no saint and had his flaws, just like the rest of us. But he was an excellent leader in our time of need.

Where is his like now that we need a strong prime minister to knock sense into our politicians? RONALD BALL, Farnborough, Hants. WITHOUT Churchill’s efforts, Mr McDonnell and the rest of us would all be speaking German. SHIRLEY HARRIES, Angmering, W. Sussex.

Be strict on fracking

If A player missed a penalty in 2011 and again eight years later from the same spot, a demand that the goalposts should be made wider would be quite rightly treated with ridicule.

Yet an equally inept performance by Cuadrilla — a small fracking company in Lancashire — has produced a similar situation.

In 2011, tremors halted its operations and, seven years later, renewed fracking produced more earthquakes that exceeded agreed levels of acceptability.

Surely the fracking industry needs to demonstrate a greater level of competence before insisting that regulations be ‘relaxed’?

The regulations are not there for amusement, they are there to protect the environment — and all of us in it. Shouldn’t this industry be substituted? KENELM STOREY,

Malton, N. Yorks.

Fuel price doubts

HALf of the Big Six energy firms have announced they are raising their standard variable tariffs by 10 per cent following the decision by Ofgem to increase its energy price cap by the same amount.

No doubt, fixed-price energy deals will follow suit as they come up for renewal. Meanwhile, we are told inflation has hit a two-year low, from 2.1 per cent in December to 1.8 per cent in January.

And it is reported the fall is mainly due to, yes, you’ve guessed, cheaper gas, electricity and petrol.

So if inflation is being driven down by falling power prices, why aren’t the Big Six reducing their tariffs for consumers?

ALAN WYLLIE, Largs, Ayrshire.

Pension swizz

A READER claims women born after 1953 have been swindled out of £60,000 (Letters) as a result of the raising of the state retirement age from 60 to 65.

In 1970, the life expectancy was 71 years. By 2016, that had risen to 81. That means we are living ten years longer, so can it be argued we are swindling the Government by the same amount?

DAVID PARKER, Leyland, Lancs. I WAS one of the lucky ones who received my state pension at 60 before they upped the age limit. My sister will have to wait until she is 67 before she gets hers. Yes, I do get a winter fuel allowance, free prescriptions and a free bus pass, all of which I am grateful for after working 40 years full-time.

However, I have to correct the claim pensioners get free dental treatment — sadly, we don’t.

L. MANN, Wotton-under-Edge, Glos.

Sold on mould

THERESA MAY has caused consternation by admitting she is happy to scrape off mould before eating jam (Mail).

This has highlighted the vast amount of food that is dumped simply because it has reached or exceeded the ‘best before’ date.

My daughter adheres to these ludicrous dates, which are suggestions, not carved-in-stone safety rules. I was brought up with rationing when no food was wasted.

We should all rely on our nose to detect whether food is on the turn or is still perfectly safe to eat.

PHILIP ROE, York. THERESA MAY has been scraping the mould off Brexit for months. She’s well past her sell-by date.

MAURIcE BLIGH, Sittingbourne, Kent.