Ordeal by BBC

SIR – How reassuring, and dare I say refreshing, that in its statement following claims made against Ed Westwick, the BBC informs us it is refraining from making any judgment on the matter.

Less reassuringly, and dare I say more predictably, it has axed from its schedules a Christmas television highlight, Agatha Christie’s Ordeal by Innocence, in which he was to appear.

The BBC is like a teenager who needs a little adult guidance on the nuances of language. There is nothing apologetic in “I’m sorry, but”. If the BBC can’t see that it is making a judgment, then heaven help us. Susan Wigmore

Abingdon, Oxfordshire

SIR – What possible good is done by the BBC pulling Ordeal by Innocence from its Christmas schedules?

The piece was presumably filmed months ago and all the actors and crew paid for their troubles, so the only people who lose out are the viewing public who have paid for the enterprise. This just seems to make the decision a pointless exercise in virtue signalling.

Where does it go from here? Is somebody already feverishly going through all the film back catalogues to make sure no old films that feature an actor against whom an allegation has been made are ever re-shown?

Can Wagner never be played again because he wasn’t a very nice chap? Do the Caravaggios have to come down because he might have stabbed somebody? Don’t we have to learn to separate the art from the people? Michael Keene

Winchester, Hampshire

SIR – May I suggest to the BBC drama department that it might want to air a performance of The Crucible one Sunday evening? Pamela Hares

Calne, Wiltshire

SIR – The past two Christmases were plagued by versions of Agatha Christie’s work that had nothing to do with the style of the queen of crime, and included language that she would never have dreamt of deploying.

If then, for whatever reason, we are to be deprived of another Yuletide offering by the same team, it will indeed be a time to be joyful. Edward Thomas

Eastbourne, East Sussex