Death toll data not all it seems

The rising death toll compared with other European countries has rightly been front-page news.

But the UK has a very high population per land mass, much of it in England and particularly in and around London.

Statistics used showing death rates per million of the population present a very different picture, with the UK dropping down the table and Belgium at the top.

With the benefit of hindsight, many nations would have done some things differently. No government has ever had to face such a challenge.

I hope we all emerge from this wiser and with an appreciation for the efforts that have been made. Joe Brettell, East Kilbride, Lanarkshire

First with the news

You say that The Mail on Sunday is a real newspaper, not a déjà vu paper, and I agree – it leads the way and others follow. The news isn’t the news if it is second-hand!

Invariably your stories are the first to expose, inform and shame. Your reporters pull no punches, and neither should they. They do have freedom of speech, after all. It is easy to see why you are such a popular paper. Plus there is You magazine, TV programme listings and crosswords. Excellent value. Well done. S. Martin, East Preston, W. Sussex

Fertile imagination

It was interesting to read that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had been seen at a fertiliser factory, as the stories of his ‘death’ had a smell of horse manure. Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia

Still our sweetheart

On this Bank Holiday weekend to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day, I’d like to salute Forces sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn – back in the charts again at the age of 103. D. Courtney, Weston-super-Mare

Blond bombshell

Lovely to see that baby Wilfred has daddy Boris Johnson’s hair. Most of us have hair like that at the moment! Carol Hussey, Braintree, Essex