28 Monday June 13 2022 | the times
Letters to the Editor
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1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GFan inversion of such teachings,
which are common to all faiths.
Lord Singh of Wimbledon
House of LordsSir, After decades of being irritatingly
ahead of the curve about most of the
important things in life (the
environment, sustainable farming,
architecture people can actually live
with) Prince Charles has now
expressed, in private, views that most
of us share. He seems to be a most
useful bellwether and perhaps the
government should take note of that,
rather than complaining that he is a
human being with actual opinions.
Emily Fergus
London SW10Sir, We all have a democratic right to
express concern about the governance
of our country and the values we
uphold. That Prince Charles should
express his views on a serious issue is
a relief. Thank goodness we have an
heir to the throne who grasps a nettle
of undoubted moral significance: how
we treat refugees.
Christina Thomas
DurhamSir, However much we may agree withProblems in NHS
Sir, It was heartening to read the
realistic take on the NHS in your
leading article (“Returns to Health”,
Jun 9). The sad truth is that the
public’s wants in terms of healthcarePrince Charles’s view on Rwanda, the
monarchy must remain apolitical.
Like most people, Charles has no
particularly noteworthy academic
achievements and is not an expert on
any subject. He hasn’t earned his wide
audience and is listened to solely due
to his position as a royal. If you
advocate for Prince Charles using his
platform to put the government in
their place on Rwanda, you can’t in
the future complain when he goes
back to promoting homeopathy.
Dr Rodric Jenkin
HerefordSir, From 2011 to 2020 I was chairman
of the United Nations subcommittee
on prevention of torture, a body that
has the right of unrestricted access to
places of detention in many countries
around the world, including Rwanda.
During my tenure, only once did we
have to terminate a visit to a country
because we were unable to undertake
it in accordance with our legal
mandate. That country was Rwanda.
As a result I have long failed to see
how it could be considered “safe” in
regard to matters involving detention.
Sir Malcolm Evans
Professor of public international law,
University of BristolReligion on film
Sir, Further to your report “Cinemas
pull film on history of Islam after
protests” (Jun 8), there is no right not
to be religiously offended. It may be
regrettable but it is part of living in a
society that allows free speech, and
the value of the latter far outweighs
the downside of the former.
Christians have endured The Life of
Brian, while Jews suffered The Passion
of the Christ. If some Muslims object
to The Lady of Heaven, the answer is
to avoid the film or to peacefully
hand out corrective leaflets to those
attending — but not to threaten the
cinema or prevent others from seeing
it. When Mormons were displeased
by the musical The Book of Mormon,
they took out a full-page advert in the
programme and invited theatre-goers
to come to a Mormon service
themselves and make their own
minds up. What a mature response.
Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain
Maidenhead SynagogueDangerous sport
Sir, Yet again the Isle of Man TT
races have resulted in numerous
unnecessary deaths (“Father and son
die in latest Isle of Man tragedy”,
Sport, Jun 11). Year after year lives
are lost in the pursuit of tourism
income. When will the government
and organising body see sense and
stop this needless loss of life?
Howard Bentley
Lytham, LancsHenman’s an ace
Sir, The obvious choice to succeed
Sue Barker is Tim Henman (report,
Jun 10). His work for various channels
has shown him to be unflappable,
knowledgeable, articulate and to have
a dry sense of humour.
Liz Westhorpe
Penoyre, PowysSenior servings
Sir, Jean Inson (letter, Jun 10) raises
the idea of restaurants having smaller
portions for older or smaller appetites.
Such a thing exists in Germany —
known as the Seniorenteller menu.
Here in Britain you can try to order
from the children’s menu, of course,
but you may be thought a cheapskate.
Lesley Bright
Haywards Heath, W SussexFoodie freeloaders
Sir, Margaret Askew laments that it is
always the very wealthy who receive
freebies when dining out (letter,
Jun 11). When I was a restaurant
critic, several chefs and proprietors
told me of a known cabal of A-listers
who would always pay for their lavish
meals with a cheque — in the certain
knowledge it would not be cashed
but instead framed and prominently
displayed in the restaurant.
Joseph Connolly
London NW3Corrections and
clarifications
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Feedback, The Times, 1 London Bridge
Street, London SE1 9GF
Grenfell, 5 years on
Sir, This week marks the fifth
anniversary of the Grenfell Tower
fire. Seventy-two people died. Forty
per cent of disabled residents died.
No residents had evacuation plans.
Despite Boris Johnson’s pledge to
implement the Grenfell inquiry
recommendations in full, none have
been implemented. Even worse, the
government has rejected outright
the recommendation to place a legal
duty on building owners to provide
personal emergency evacuation plans
for disabled residents unable to escape
the building unaided. Evacuation
plans would mean disabled residents,
and those around them, would feel
confident in an emergency. This
would include knowing who might
help and having access to appropriate
aids. By refusing to implement
evacuation plans the government is
showing a shocking disregard for the
lives of disabled people.
This week the government, and
the country, will remember those lost
in the Grenfell fire. Many will say
“never again” but without a legal duty
for evacuation plans for disabled
people this will ring hollow. We have
launched a petition calling on the
government to reverse its callous and
bewildering decision.
Natasha Elcock
Chairwoman, Grenfell United
Kamran Mallick
Chief executive, Disability Rights UK
Sarah Rennie
Co-founder, Claddag
Georgie Hulme
Co-founder, Claddag
Off the rails
Sir, Your correspondents and leading
article (Jun 11) make fierce criticism
of railway inconvenience, and
they’re right. This year I have used
the Sheffield to London line four
times and each time was disrupted —
carriages missing, seat reservations
absent, lack of catering facilities,
grim lavatories. When I last took my
grandsons to Manchester, they had
to stand all the way back due to
overcrowding. It is a humiliation for
those who, like me, have travelled
on superb railways abroad, in Italy,
France and Spain. But none of this
is due to union action. Nor is the
£5 billion government subsidy, nor
the 20 per cent fare rise in real terms
since privatisation. We certainly need
improvements in our rail service,
but should beware of discovering its
problems only when its workforce
wants pay to match inflation.
Adrian Perry
Sheffield
Charles and the royal rule of avoiding politics
Sir, Many of us have long harboured
doubts about whether the Prince of
Wales has the self-discipline to follow
his mother’s impeccable example as
a constitutional monarch. His latest
remarks (“Charles: Flying migrants
to Rwanda is ‘appalling’ ”, Jun 11)
simply reinforce these. He has now
entered a new phase of his life:
deputising for the Queen in
constitutional roles such as opening
parliament — quite different from
cutting a tape or opening a fête. He
is a counsellor of state for when the
Queen is unavailable. He really must
learn to hold his tongue in private
conversations.
Kenneth Ross
Auchencairn, Dumfries and GallowaySir, The Prince of Wales should be
applauded for his criticism of a policy
unashamedly put forward to punish
asylum seekers who risk their lives
coming to our shores. Amnesty
International and the US Bureau of
Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
have criticised Rwanda’s record on
human rights. The royal family are
charged with a responsibility to
defend Christian values, which teach
kindness to strangers and those in
distress. The government’s policy iswill always outstrip supply, as long as
there is no cost to the patient. Our
ageing population, coupled with the
vast array of tests and treatments
available, means the NHS must find
a way to moderate demand if we are
to provide a safe service. A health
service that offers fertility treatment,
reconstructive surgery or gender
reassignment but leaves patients dying
in corridors or at home for want of
an ambulance is unfit for purpose.
Right now NHS leaders are fiddling
while Rome burns. Reform is needed.
Dr Katie Musgrave
GP, Loddiswell, DevonSir, Dr Tim Williams (letter, Jun 10)
suggests that doctors could handle
the more difficult 111 calls to relieve
pressure on A&E departments. A
paediatric 111 service has been
successfully introduced, with support
from the Royal College of Paediatrics
and Child Health, initially as a pilot
study and now on a more regular
footing. This service has not only
reduced A&E referrals, but also
ensures that appropriate referrals of
sick children are not deferred because
of concerns relating to Covid-19.
Mervyn Jaswon
London NW11from the times june 13, 1922TORNADO
KILLS 50 IN
NEW YORK
Feeding the nation
Sir, Your headline on the future of
food in this country (“Save the planet
by tucking into algae proteins and
wild venison”, Jun 11) was alluring but
sounded too good to be true. It was.
The brutal truth about food in the
future is that 80 per cent of it will still
be junk. And obesity will increase
because of Boris Johnson’s refusal to
understand the tax recommendations
of his government’s chosen food tsar,
Henry Dimbleby. When they were
published in July, Johnson declared
he was “not attracted to the idea of
extra taxes for hardworking people”
but that was the last thing that
Dimbleby had in mind. Following two
years of research he concluded that
taxing bulk purchases of sugar and
salt would encourage producers not
to stuff their food with them. They
are two ingredients which greatly
dispose consumers to become obese,
so Johnson’s veto means that people
will go on getting fatter. How tragic.
Tam Fry
Patron, Child Growth Foundation;
chairman, National Obesity Forum;
and expert advisory team member,
Action on SugarSir, Ministers are set to recommend
yet another initiative as if there is a
silver-bullet solution to food security.
Pledging to cut the UK’s reliance on
imports of fruit and vegetables sounds
a good idea but should we really be
jumping into “factory greenhouses”?
They have their place, but producing
the large volumes of food we need
using such methods would require
significant investment. The costs of
energy to run facilities during the
winter months would be prohibitive.
Many greenhouses have already shut
down production this year because
the costs of energy and fertiliser are
too high. Can we not just promote
and enjoy our homegrown fruit and
veg as they come in season? I love the
strawberry season but now it goes on
and on, and it does get rather boring.
Melvyn Kay
Consultant to the UN Food and
Agriculture Organisationthetimes.co.uk/archivePrices at the pump
Sir, Regarding the onslaught on
petrol prices (“Treasury rakes in tax
bonanza as cost of filling up reaches
£100”, Jun 10), I have changed my
buying procedures. I would normally
buy whole tanks of fuel but I now
fill up when half empty — it makes
me feel so much better getting a
tank full for £50.
Bob Richardson
Burgess Hill, W SussexYesterday afternoon New York was
visited by a hurricane without
parallel in the records of the city.
Between 50 and 60 persons were
killed and hundreds injured. The
storm came like a bolt from the blue,
sweeping down upon the tens of
thousands enjoying a gorgeous
Sunday afternoon by the waters of
Long Island Sound and other
pleasure resorts. Wind funnels,
waterspouts and lightning devastated
entire districts. Coming up from the
south-west, the hurricane struck the
northern part of the city about half
past five. Travelling at terrific speedit swept over the residential suburbs
of Westchester and Long Island to
the north and east of New York,
where most of the playgrounds of
the city are situated. Its approach
was awe-inspiring — inky clouds
spread over what a few moments
before had been a blue summer sky.
Below them lurid yellow vapours
swirled and twisted, while along the
ground swept a barrage of dust and
debris. Out of the murky mass
jagged tongues of lightning flashed,
succeeded by instantaneous crashes
of thunder. Trees were uprooted and
fell on houses or motor-cars,
crushing the occupants. Electric
wires were torn down, and the
lighting and telephone services are
suspended over wide areas. At least
three persons were killed by
touching broken electric railway
cables. Half the deaths caused
occurred off City Island, one of the
most popular Sunday resorts for
New Yorkers, situated in Long IslandSound. When the storm struck the
waters of the Sound were dotted
with skiffs and canoes, which were
overturned and sunk by dozens.
Twenty bodies have so far been
recovered, many of children. It is
estimated that some 20,000 people
were on City Island when the storm
burst. Terror-stricken by the
lightning and roar of the thunder,
the crowds gave way to panic,
trampling one another under foot.
Other serious casualties occurred in
the amusement park on the
northern-tip of Manhattan Island on
the Harlem River. A feature of the
park was a “Big Wheel”, 100ft in
diameter, similar to that which used
to be at Earl’s Court. The wind lifted
the whole structure and dashed it on
to the river bank. About 50 people
were in the cars; seven were killed
outright and 30 seriously injured.