What a waste

gOVerNMeNT lockdown policies wasted huge sums and caused immense damage to the economy, children’s education, hospital waiting lists and mental health.

But if we’d had a labour/liberal democrat/SNP coalition government, the damage would have been considerably worse. We’d probably still be in lockdown!

CHRIS TAYlOR,

Yateley, Hants. I aM speechless that in the article about the squandering of PPe money, Sir Chris Wormald, the department of Health’s permanent secretary, insisted: ‘Fraud in contracting is a fact of life, regardless of the circumstances.

‘It would be astonishing if this was

the only large set of government contracts in which there was no fraud at all.’

Why aren’t contracts managed properly? Is it because it’s taxpayers’ money so no one cares? Any contract should be managed as if it was your own money.

ALAN ReYNOLDS, Penzance, Cornwall.