Hunt’s hindsight

sir – How does Jeremy Hunt have the brass neck to lead the criticism of the Government over its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic (report, October 12)?

He was the health secretary who pigeonholed the results of Operation Cygnus, the trial run on whether the NHS could deal with such an event. Adair Anderson

Selkirk

sir – Listening to Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, on Radio 4 on Tuesday, I was surprised that he did not mention the wider effects of lockdown on society – the economic impairment, the deleterious effect on education at all levels, the delay in treating other medical problems such as cancer and heart disease, and the other societal ill effects. His outlook was worryingly blinkered.

All those mandating the response to Covid are on the public sector payroll. Do they not realise that wealth creation, on which taxation depends, is being impaired by their actions?

Ian Strachan

Blairgowrie, Perthshire

sir – I tried to contact DVLA on two consecutive days. On both I was told: “We are experiencing high call volumes, please ring back later. Goodbye.”

What a way to run a business. Nigel Williams

Aston Rowant, Oxfordshire