The Observer - 25.08.2019

• The Observer
  50 25.08.19 Comment & Analysis

The Guardian

‘Lifetime of jollies’

“If we’re meant to believe that

Prince Andrew is appalled by

ALL of the crimes of Jeff rey

Epstein, then allow me to treat

this statement with all the

dignity it deserves. To wit:

BULL. SHIT. Bullshit Andrew

didn’t know what sort of guy

his friend was when he was

snapped walking with the sex

off ender ... Bullshit he didn’t

know why his friend WENT TO

PRISON FOR A YEAR... I get

we have to pay for Andrew’s

lifetime of jollies; but we don’t

have to have our intelligence

insulted by him.” Marina Hyde

The Times

‘Fresh scrutiny’

“Far from putting the lid on the

scandal in which the millionaire

predator abused girls with

near-impunity, his suicide has

lengthened the shadow cast

over associates. Th e case is

bringing fresh scrutiny to those

who once moved in Epstein’s

circle, from the Duke of York to

the Sultan of Dubai ... Mariana

Vanin, of the Coalition Against

Tra ffi cking in Women, said:

‘Now the focus is going to be

on who was around him, who

knew, who was acting with

that knowledge of what was

going on. Th e level of fame

of those associates may

either help propel the case

on further or help sweep it

under the rug. Th ere are a lot

of people worried right now.’”

Jacqui Goddard

This week’s issue

Privatising energy

is doomed to failure

The possible failure of some smaller
energy suppliers clearly illustrates
the stupidity of privatisation of such
vital national resources (“ Small
energy companies risk going bust in
fi nancial shock ”, News , last week ).
Oil and gas prices are determined
by global markets, so there is
little scope for competition there;
in fact, the artifi cial competitive
elements might even contribute to
increased prices as British suppliers
outbid one another in order to
get enough for their needs. The
dozens of companies involved, all
with shareholders, managers and
employees to be paid, inevitably
increase costs when compared
with the state-run enterprises that
successfully ran the businesses
for decades.
At the same time, alternative
energy supplies are very limited,
while the bulk of the costs of energy
delivery to consumers are fi xed, so
the role of competition is almost
non-existent: companies can cut
back on maintenance, a possible
factor in the recent power failures,
or staff wages, but not much else.
David Reed
London NW3

Aid for the visually impaired
Chaminda Jayanetti ’s article “ Special
educational needs crisis deepens
as councils bust their budgets ”
(News , last week ) is consistent with
a worrying trend that we at the
Royal National College for the Blind
have noticed across the country in
educational provision for young
people with visual impairments (VI).
We have specifi c concerns about
services for young people with VI
being cut in most English local
authorities. Specialist provision
cannot be provided locally in a
cost-effective manner due to the
wide variations in condition and
need and the low numbers affected,
so the need for a national centre for
education has never been greater.
When young people with VI
do not develop the skills they will
need for an independent adult life,
it greatly increases the likelihood
that they will fail to fi nd sustainable
employment, will not be able to live
independently and will not be able to
fully contribute to their community.

place for old friends and beloved

family” seemed more like a raucous

gathering of sub-Bullingdon clubs.

We were constantly bobbing up and

down to allow a stream of multi-

pint beer carriers to pass. When the

rain came, the line of bars under

the stand sheltered thousands of

tipplers and the “conviviality” was

deafening.

The snooty Lord’s of old,

where the turnstile operators

seemed to check whether you

were dressed appropriately, has

long been replaced by rampant

commercialism. Spectators are

now punters, encouraged to keep

drinking and eating for as long as

possible after rain stops play – a

peculiar “sense of belonging”.

Andrew Broadbent

London N14

Fishermen deserve better

The major problem for maintaining

any form of stock recovery is that

“sustainability” remains a pious

hope rather than having intrinsic

value (“ Where did all the cod go? ”,

Special report , last week ). Thus,

among the objectives in Michael

Gove’s draft fi sheries bill 2017-19

is one on sustainability, which is

described as both “environmentally

sustainable in the long term” and

“managed in a way that is consistent

with the objectives of achieving

economic, social and employment

at recording cases as us. Whatever,

it is a statistical impossibility to say

that US chickens have 10-fold higher

infection rates than ours, which

currently run at 56% in birds bought

from all retailers and 75% bought

from non-major retailers.

Hugh Pennington

Aberdeen

Counting down to Doomsday

Thank you for your informative

interview with Martin Rees ( Q&A ,

New Review , last week ). After going

online to purchase his book on

humanity’s future, I noticed that

in the UK it was sold as Our Final

Century and in the US it’s marketed

as Our Final Hour. Apparently, our

perception of the passage of time is

dependent on our culture.

Sean McGibbon

Kilkenny, Ireland

If there’s a vacancy for a world

leader , can I suggest Martin

Rees? A ray of evidence-based,

compassionate common sense in

the fog of narcissistic self-interest.

Mick Nagle

Richmond, London

If your face fi ts...

David Olusoga’s article on the

inequalities of university entrance

procedures reminded me of my

much simpler application to

Edinburgh University in 1963

(“ Predicted grades are a lottery and

work against the poorest students.

Let’s get rid of them ”, Comment ,

last week ). There was a one-page

questionnaire to fi ll in – educational

achievements etc – followed by a

space to glue in a passport photo.

“This will be used for identifi cation,

not selection purposes” was the

reassuring fi nal sentence.

Susan Martineau

Exmouth, Devon

benefi ts, and of contributing to the

availability of food supplies”.

But the two strands effectively

cancel each other out, as

management of the stock is

inconsistent with any other

objective. Compare that with the

Australian Fisheries Management

Act 199 1 , whose objectives are

both the integration of “long-

term and short-term economic,

environmental, social and equity

considerations” and “the principle

of intergenerational equity – that

the present generation should

ensure that the health, diversity and

productivity of the environment

is maintained or enhanced for the

benefi t of future generations”.

Until we build into the system

a real meaning for sustainability,

we’ll continue to fail. The problem

for fi shermen is that they are locked

into a stupid system that makes

them act stupidly.

Sean Marriott

Aldborough, Norfolk

A paean to the British seaside

It’s good to have an article about

British seaside resorts, but I felt that

Sarah Ditum was too negative (“ Oh

I do like to be beside the seaside,

but many of our coastal towns need

more love ”, Comment , last week ).

Two weeks ago, my family and I

visited Filey in north Yorkshire. The

town was buzzing. Thousands of

people were on the beach playing

games. We enjoyed rounders on

the golden sands – I didn’t know I

could still run at the age of 72! It was

a lovely weekend and people were

swimming in the sea, so it can’t have

been that cold.

Gillian Youell

Loughborough, Leics

The great chicken lottery

Campylobacter is a curse – it is by

far the commonest bacterial cause

of food poisoning and can cause

very nasty complications (“ A trade

deal with Trump will change Britain

for the worse ”, Business , last week ).

But getting it out of the food chain

has proved very diffi cult. It will be

interesting to see whether British

chicken producers will start to

wash carcasses with chlorinated

water rather than ordinary water

when freed from the EU ban by a

no-deal Brexit. US producers justify

it by pointing out lower human

infection rates in the US than in

Europe. Maybe they are not as good

YOUR

LETTERS

Write to us

The Express

‘Guilt by association’

“Andrew fi nds himself

increasingly tarnished with

so-called guilt by association.

He needs to explain his

relationship with the dead

paedophile before others do

the explaining for him ... Th e

time for fl unkies issuing blanket

statements of denial has

passed.” Richard and Judy

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Britain’s view on... Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein

Smaller energy suppliers

struggle to cut their costs.

Mussolini came to power

in Italy in 1922, not 1919, as

we said ( “ ‘Salvini must be

stopped’: Renzi’s back, but

can the ex-PM save Italy?” ,

18 August, News, page 28).

Write to the Readers’ Editor, the

Observer, York Way, London N1

9GU, email observer.readers@

observer.co.uk, tel 020 3353 4736

For the record

The emotional cost will be borne

by the young person, while the

fi nancial cost will be borne by their

family, adult social services and the

Department for Work and Pensions.

Short-term thinking to “save” money

on an education placement converts

to a lifetime of expense for the public

purse. It also wastes the resource of

talented young people.

Lucy Proctor, charity CEO

Royal National College for the Blind

Hereford

‘Magic’ Lord’s? Not in my seat

Tanya Aldred was at a different

Lord’s to those of us crammed

into the middle level of the Mound

stand on the third day of the second

Test against Australia (“ Gloom,

drizzle and little cricket but Lord’s

neighbourly magic still crackles ”,

Sportblog , last week ). Her “meeting