Settling scores seems top item on Covid probe

THERE is no need for the Covid Inquiry to examine every conversation, text and email in minute detail, nor to dissect internal politics. It should really have taken no more than a month.

Was lockdown brought in too soon or too late? Was it actually the best or only way to go? Were masks necessary and, if so, were they used appropriately?

Most of the answers could be found by studying how various countries reacted. And, lastly, was the death rate recorded correctly? It seems to me the inquiry is being used to settle personal scores.

M. SIMS, Warrington, Cheshire.

I THINK stephen Glover (Mail) is wrong to compare Covid deaths in sweden with those in the uk and other European countries.

My understanding is there was no standard definition of a ‘Covid death’ and, in the uk, anyone who died with Covid was classified as such, whether the virus was a contributing factor or not.

STEVE EDWARDS,

Bishop’s Stortford, Herts.

I HAVE never known such hindsight as in this costly, drawn-out inquiry, with people showboating and blaming anyone but themselves. Boris Johnson had the invidious job of either trashing the economy or letting the elderly die. Which would you have done?

KEITH JONES,

Cradley Heath, W. Mids.

IT WOULD seem all the Baldricks involved in Covid had a cunning plan but, unlike Blackadder, nobody asked what the plan was.

GEORGE HATCHMAN,

Cheshunt, Herts.

Tickets, please

HURRAH for common sense. The public have spoken on the subject of railway ticket office closures and the Government listened.

We didn’t want these closures but rail bosses, who see only revenues and have no regard for customer service, are furious.

Not everyone wants to be dragged down the route of everincreasing technology; we just want a system that works for the non-tech population.

ANDY SUTCLIFFE,

Alfreton, Derbys.

Responsible Rishi

RISHI SUNAK’S timely set-up of the AI safety summit shows responsible leadership, so badly needed in an age of turmoil and uncertainty. AI could either be of immense benefit or, left unregulated, pose a catastrophic risk to humanity. so well done, Rishi.

DAVID MORGAN,

Shrewsbury, Salop.

RISHI SUNAK is not leading the world on AI safety. He is following America, where legislation is already being passed.

J. SMITH, Warrington, Cheshire.

Free and feline

FURTHER to previous letters, I believe cats are still officially classed as ‘free-roaming animals’, possibly because in the past we were grateful that they helped to kill disease-spreading rodents.

ANNE STILL,

Tolleshunt Knights, Essex.

Storm thoughts

WHY do television companies insist on putting reporters and camera crews at risk by placing them on the seafront during high winds and storm surges? It’s stormy. We believe you.

JOHN THOMAS,

swansea.

IF WE name storms in alphabetical and alternate gender order, perhaps the next one after Ciaran should be stormy Daniels.

DAVID PEARCE,

Wilmslow, Cheshire.

Living in fear

JULIE BURCHILL’S article about the resurgence of anti-semitism in Britain (Mail) was spot on.

Don’t they teach youngsters history any more?

S. BLAGG,

address supplied.

I AM a Jewish woman in her 70s who always felt safe here, even when Corbyn was popular. There were incidents of anti-semitism but I always felt I could turn to the police and there was a British sense of decency among those I lived alongside. Very, very sadly, I don’t feel I can rely on those values any longer. I feel lost.

C. WILLIAMS, address supplied.

Parents should pay

THE children who wrecked a Grade II-listed home were aged between 11 and 15 and only fined £ 1,500 each. Why were their parents not held liable? Too many parents get away with not bringing up their children to respect other people and their property.

I. HEATH, Bexleyheath, Kent.

Forgotten migrants

AROUND 1.7 million people are being expelled from the country they were living in — but don’t blame suella Braverman.

The expelling country is Pakistan and those expelled are undocumented Afghan migrants.

It’s a lot more than one planeload, but will there be a demo in london to protest against this? Will Pakistan be demonised as racist? Don’t hold your breath.

DAN HARTLEY, Solihull, W. Mids.

Hairy horrors

WHY do so many men, particularly young men, have beards these days? They just make them look older and scruffier.

BOBBIE VANSTONE, Budleigh salterton, devon.

WOMEN spend a fortune on trying to look younger, while men are happy to look 20 years older by sporting messy facial hair. They may think beards or designer stubble are smart and trendy, but most of them look as if they spent the night in a skip.

VERITY HILL, Exeter, Devon.