Don’t forget praise for politicians in all this

NO amount of thanks could possibly be enough to fully acknowledge the debt we owe to the doctors nurses and other front-line workers (including vaccine researchers) who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to help, protect and look after us in the battle against Covid-19.

But I think it is time we also recognised the enormous burden that the pandemic has placed upon the shoulders of Boris Johnson and his ministers, who were handed the poisoned chalice of having to steer the country through the worst crisis we have faced since the Second World War.

It has been far from plain sailing, and yes, mistakes have been made along the way – hardly surprising given that no previous government has ever been confronted with trying to deal with a global pandemic before – but they have battled on, despite a constant barrage of scorn and invective from critics.

I have particular admiration for the way in which ministers have repeatedly stepped into the Lion’s Den to face gestapo-like questioning by the BBC’s interrogators-in-chief, Stayt, Munchetty, Walker, Minchin et al - yet managed to maintain their cool at all times.

Whatever one’s politics, the PM and his ministers deserve recognition and our thanks for the way in which they have carried out their responsibilities under incredibly difficult circumstances. Robert Readman,

Bournemouth