Boris deserves a few perks — so give him a break
Why the fuss over Boris’s flat redecoration? Where I used to live, I knew a local authority worker who installed kitchens in council houses. he told me he couldn’t remember his last genuine job — he’d fitted new kitchens for the councillors and all their friends.
Obviously this would have come out of public funds, but no one was ever held to account.
Other friends who were council secretaries said no contract put out to tender was ever fairly won. It invariably went to a brother/ cousin/ mate of someone in the council.
as there are councillors and schoolteachers earning more than Boris, I think he deserves some perks, such as a holiday.
after all, take richard Branson’s private island necker in the British Virgin Islands?
how many heads of state, celebrities and royals have had a free holiday there when they could easily pay? MISS P. BROWN, address supplied. In VIEW of the prime Minister’s florid accounts of who paid for what at the no 11 flat, and his failure to get some kind of ‘Magic Trust’ to foot the bill, can the tens of thousands of leaseholders, whose lives have been devastated by him and fellow Cabinet members due to the cladding scandal, also expect a Boris Trust to help? PETER FELTHAM, Epsom, Surrey.
Hostage to fortune
ThErE is a simple way for nazanin Zaghari-ratcliffe to be released instantly. The uK government should return the £400 million held since 1979 — payment by Iran for tanks that were never delivered.
It is not the Iranian Government but the British Government at fault here.
KEVIN HUMAJA, London SW17.
Patience required
I haVE to disagree with praveen prakasam over his experience at heathrow after returning from India (Letters). Firstly, he says he went to visit his elderly parents. Is this really ‘essential’ travel?
and Mr prakasam, was surely aware of the potential problems he would have when trying to reenter the uK.
Border control are currently understaffed. Quite rightly, they have to ensure that every arriving passenger’s documentation is in order. Once that has been thoroughly checked and corroborated, only then can passengers be escorted by G4S to waiting transportation to their quarantine accommodation.
One of those 50 people ahead of Mr prakasam may have had issues with their documentation, hence the delays.
I work out of heathrow airport and I find it highly insensitive that Mr prakasam has the cheek to complain about his treatment.
The travel industry has been majorly affected by the pandemic with still no certain date of resumption of flights or returning customers. CHLOE ROBINSON, Northampton.
Profit motive
hEarTy applause for natWest, whose pre- tax profits of £946 million will no doubt bring joy to many — though not to businesses and individuals who, due to bank branch closures, were left high and dry. So, natWest, when can we expect a total closure of all your high Street outlets? The online revolution is beckoning.
MR B. CHANNING, Pembroke, Pembrokeshire.
True pandemic heroes
So, a.B. Medley (Letters) thinks that ‘the country coming out of the dark, the pandemic on the retreat . . . has been achieved largely by Boris Johnson’.
no, this is largely due to the heroic efforts of our scientists, nhS staff, carers and other key workers, the thousands of volunteers who’ve manned vaccination centres, the millions of citizens who’ve unfussily had their jabs and the millions who’ve also put in the hard miles and continued to follow lockdown rules.
STEVE ROBERTS, Christchurch, Dorset.
E-scooter mayhem
ThE Department for Transport says it is aware of ‘a minority of instances where e-scooters have been misused’.
Tell the DfT to come to Croydon where I work — they’re everywhere, and every one is being used illegally, mostly by kids. They zoom around the pedestrian-only areas and pavements, go the wrong way on the one-way system, carry passengers and are a frequent sight on the busy main roads, including the dual carriageway flyover — all with no licence, no insurance and no registration.
When Segway scooters were introduced in the early 2000s they were deemed illegal for use on public roads in the uK, and the same should apply to e-scooters.
If they are to be legalised, users should at least need a provisional licence, be registered with the DVLa and have to display number plates and pay insurance — like all other motorised road-users.
DUNCAN BARNES, Croydon.
Be more like Betty
rICharD LITTLEJOhn’S article on the rise of the Wokes was spot on.
Sadly, Betty Boothroyd’s stoic generation are a dying breed. The feeble modern Wokes are an embarrassment.
While they can be found in all walks of life, they are particularly rife in the public sector.
I have a theory that it is far easier to be a Woke and waste time, money and resources on pointless pC nonsense than doing the mundane job of delivering the vital public services we rely on.
Oh yes, far easier to have meetings on providing genderneutral toilets than ensuring we have sufficient care for the elderly, repairs done on roads, shelters for the homeless and regular bin collections. ANGUS LONG, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Fight for the forests
WILLIaM haGuE is talking a lot of sense with his suggestion of protecting Brazilian rainforests with armed force.
Climate change should be at the top of the ‘hierarchy of political issues’ right now. We don’t have the luxury of time on our side, trying to stop this disaster via pussyfooting-around governments that are just not interested.
Getting troops involved would be a lot more beneficial than trying to get people to change their central heating methods and also put out the message that ‘the world means business’.
The devastation has got to stop now, by force if needs be. Mrs SHEILA HARDING,
Benllech, Anglesey. ThE idea of sending troops into foreign countries to protect endangered rainforests is ridiculous. Imposing trade embargoes on those that destroy their rainforests would be more effective. DAVID STUCKEY, Stevenage, Herts.