Tribute to good man who loved his constituents

THE killing of Sir David Amess was abominable. According to all who knew him, he was a decent man who loved his constituency and country and, more importantly, he loved his family.

It is right and proper that all the MPs who have shown their disgust at the attack on Sir David and our political system should come together to make certain our democracy is never compromised.

H. WOODS, Chilton, Co. Durham. THE death of Sir David Amess highlights the vulnerability of MPs or, indeed, any person with faceto-face contact with a stranger.

How can you protect yourself from someone intent on hurting you? Terrorism is about making you scared to go about your normal day-to-day tasks, and part of an MP’s job is meeting their constituents.

Sir David’s killing is an attack on our democracy, but terrorism must not win.

S. T. VAUGHAN, Birmingham.

Grieving my friend

I GRIEVE for my friend Sir David Amess. In the 1970s, we worked together in the Young Conservatives and he was clearly a talent in the ascendant.

His opposition to Europe was consistent through his years as a committed Brexiteer.

We shared pro-life views and a Christian faith. His witness was practised rather than preached.

DAVID FLEMING, Downham Market, Norfolk. MY DAUGHTER worked for Sir David Amess during her university vacations. He attended her wedding, but could not stay for the reception as he had to attend a constituency surgery. This was the measure of the man who never let down his constituents.

JEAN GREEN, Twyford, Berks. I AM so shocked and saddened by the tragic death of my MP.

Sir David was a decent, kind man who always had a big smile. He was hard-working and was always there for Southend and Leigh-on-Sea.

A terrible loss to the community and the country. MARIGOLD LOCKHART,

Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. I WELL remember a wet, cold winter’s evening in November 1983 when Basildon Boys’ Club held their AGM. To our surprise, David Amess, the newly elected MP, turned up.

When I asked him how he had become a MP, with a broad smile he said it was the last thing he wanted as a young married man starting a family.

Conservative Central Office had stressed he needed experience in running a campaign, but there was no chance that he would be elected in Little Moscow on the Thames, as Basildon was known at the time!

He was a good man who worked hard for his constituents.

CHRIS WRIGHT, Tavira, Portugal.

Let me see a GP

HOW I agree with Sarah Vine’s criticism of the way GP surgeries operate (Mail).

Growing up, I had the same family doctor for more than 20 years and he never failed me in my hour of need, day or night.

His successor, though caring, had a policy that if you were ill, rather than request a home visit, you should phone for an ambulance.

Today, my surgery is staffed by part-time GPs and you never see the same one twice.

This polyclinic approach is not only costly, but could result in a dangerous misdiagnosis.

We all know about the complexities of modern medicine, but getting the basics right — being able to see the doctor you are registered with — isn’t rocket science.

CHARLES JONES, Chester. CAMPAIGNING for the right of everyone to see their GP is another great example of the Mail showing the inept Government how to get things done.

PAUL MACKINTOSH, Darlington, Co. Durham.

Part-time problem

THE BMA claims the decline in the number of face-to-face appointments is due to a lack of doctors. How true: my health centre has ten part-time doctors who work the equivalent of 5¾ full-time GPs, a loss of capacity of more than 40 per cent.

I imagine this is being repeated across the country due to the popularity of flexible working.

Imagine the impact if all doctors worked full-time to clear the backlog due to Covid. I suspect this would not be popular with those who view being a GP as a well-paid job, not a vocation.

TONY FOOT, Mosterton, Dorset.

Law in your own hands

HAVING spent 30 years as a police officer, I have never held with vigilantes or people taking the law into their own hands.

However, I am having a re-think after seeing people pulling idiotic eco-zealots out of the road so they can go about their lawful business while the police do nothing.

I’m not having a go at the police constables, as they are only following orders from senior officers, though it’s debatable whether being told to stand by and watch the law being broken can be a lawful order.

All we hear from the authorities is that they are sorting out legislation to deal with the problem.

Nonsense, there is already sufficient legislation in place to deal with the protesters. All it takes is for senior officers and the judiciary to do their job.

PAUL MORLEY, Skipton, N. Yorks. INSULATE Britain needs to understand the main achievement of its protests has been to annoy the public.

Rather than rearranging the deckchairs in Britain, it should try to shift the iceberg of China, the world’s biggest polluter. Good luck with that.

NEIL FIRTH, Lancaster.

Lost wedding ring

ON THE subject of lost wedding rings (Femail), I was snorkelling a few hundred yards from our resort in Paphos, in Cyprus, when I spotted a gold wedding band on the sea bed.

I would love to say it was about 30m down and was being circled by great white sharks. In reality, it was about 4m down and I was being buffeted by pedalos.

I handed the ring into the hotel reception. Later that day, I received a room call from a tearful gentleman explaining that the reception desk had passed on my room number. He and his wife were on their 40th wedding anniversary and had lost one of their rings. They had spent all of their holiday looking for it.

Being a Spurs supporter, I have never reached the feeling of elation experienced that day.

The couple sent an expensive bottle of champagne to my room, which wasn’t necessary but greatly appreciated.

It also made the loss of my own wedding ring through divorce easier to bear.