Daily Mail, Wednesday, August 21, 2019 Page 55
DEBATE
JEREMY CORBYN says he’ll be the new
Thatcher. I wouldn’t trust him on my roof.
RALPH BARTLE, Rotherham, S. Yorks.
SHOULD the Lib Dems be renamed The
Reject Party?
JEAN SEARLE, Crowthorne, Berks.
WHEN a top criminologist hands over
control of his computer to a stranger after an
unsolicited phone call (Mail), I can understand
why banks are reluctant to reimburse people
who have been scammed.
NEIL MCPHERSON, Gillingham, Kent.
APART from the fact Greta Thunberg should
be in school, not lecturing us on climate
change, at least she lives by her convictions. I
trust that next time Emma Thompson will go
by boat to the Oscars.
SUE TURNER, Bewdley, Worcs.
A DEFENCE Secretary who’s been a serving
Army Officer. What next: an impartial Speaker?
J. WALMSLEY, Bury, Gtr Manchester.
THE ten best gags at the Edinburgh Festival
— that’s the Christmas cracker jokes sorted.
BRIAN SYKES, Sudbury, Suffolk.
SWEDE tells broccoli joke and wins best
Edinburgh Festival gag prize. That’s funnier
than the joke.
VINCENT HEFTER, Richmond, Surrey.
THERE is a shortage of the epilepsy drug
Epilim (Mail). Forty years ago, when it was first
prescribed for my son, the manufacturer was
British. Now it comes from Poland and Russia.
Nothing seems to be made here anymore.
J. NASH, Cheltenham, Glos.÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷Straight to the
POINT
FOR permission to copy cuttings for internal management and information
purposes, please contact the Newspaper Licensing Agency (NLA), PO Box
101, Tunbridge Wells TN1 1WX. Tel: 01892 525273. e-mail: [email protected]Should we ban speeding celebs from the road?
YET again fame saves another
celeb from losing their licence.
Steve Coogan knew that by
speeding he was risking his driving
licence and a lucrative new TV
series that involves driving around
Britain. He argued that his fictional
character Alan Partridge couldn’t
be seen on a train because ‘it’s not
him’ and the magistrates bought
this argument. If an unemployed
person was stopped under the
same circumstances, they would
be walking to the Jobcentre to sign
on and wondering how they’re
going to pay the fine.
TONY HARVEY, Bangor, Co. Down.
COLUMNIST Jan Moir said Steve
Coogan’s reduced driving ban was
‘proof that there seems to be one
law for celebrities and another for
everyone else’. How wrong she is.Under the road traffic laws for totting
up, when a driver reaches 12 points,
they are liable for disqualification for
six months unless they can show to
the satisfaction of the magistrates
that a ban of such length would cause
exceptional hardship to the driver or
innocent third parties.
In Steve Coogan’s case, he was due to
begin shooting a new series of Alan
Partridge within six months, which
involves an ability to drive. A ban of
six months would have meant
cancelling the series. While this might
not have caused hardship to Mr
Coogan, others employed in the
production would have suffered.
I am a lawyer who on many occasions
has represented drivers, who were by
no means celebrities, who received
lesser bans because of the hardship
that would result from a longer ban
to third parties. These decisions
were made by conscientiousmagistrates, as was the case with
Steve Coogan, and it is wrong to
claim that in this case the bench
was star-struck.
SIMON COUPE, Lytham, Lancs.
IS THERE any limit to the depths so-
called celebs will plunge to escape
a driving ban? Martin Roberts
claiming his asthma was to blame
for his high alcohol reading takes
the biscuit. He doesn’t seem to
have suffered any health problems
walking up and down stairs while
presenting TV’s Homes Under The
Hammer. He also appeared in I’m A
Celebrity, which is filmed in the
humid Australian jungle. His feeble
excuse in court was an insult to
asthma sufferers, like my son and I,
who would never use the condition
as an excuse for misdemeanours.
EMMA BROWN, Southampton.unionists and politicians. It
was intended to highlight the
fight of ordinary people for
Parliamentary reform.
How little has changed:
Parliament refuses to
accept the result of the 2016
Referendum vote by the
people to leave the EU.
If there is a second referen-
dum, it would include the
option to remain in the
EU, thus cancelling the
referendum vote.
So much for democracy.
Peterloo’s 18 deaths and 700
wounded were all in vain.
Parliament will never give up
its right to ignore the will of
the people.
JAMES WIGNALL,
Accrington, Lancs.Cruise control
ON A cruise from Southamp-
ton visiting Ireland, Norway
and the Netherlands, we
stopped at several ports.
None of the holidaymakers
of many different nationalities
were asked to show a passport
for verification as long as they
were carrying a cruise board-
ing pass. If the technologyexists for people from all over
the world to travel with
limited restriction, then it
can’t be beyond the wit of
experts to control lorries
going in and out of Ireland
after Brexit.
ROY DEEGAN, Lincoln.Windbag power
WHAT have we in store this
winter when the National Grid
can’t maintain power for the
whole country during warm
summer conditions?
Perhaps we could help
produce electricity by locating
the Parliamentary Remainer
windbags close to power
stations for the rest of therecess as they never seem to
run out of hot air.
LAURENCE FREEMAN,
Luton, Beds.Carrie on Balmoral
A FEW words of advice for
Carrie Symonds before she
accompanies Boris to meet
the Queen at Balmoral.
Be your charming self, use
all the cutlery, not just the
fork like a lot of Americans; and
stay loyal to Boris, even if you
are not seated next to him.
Remember to curtsy before
the Queen, unlike Cherie Blair,
and appreciate the barbecue
where the royals play at being
peasants by doing the cookingand washing up — what a
hoot! Only speak when you
are spoken to and don’t forget
to enjoy yourself.
DANA PERRIN,
Ticehurst, E. Sussex.Train strain
IT’S hard to suppress a laugh
at the groans from rail
passengers about fare
increases. While motorists are
taxed to the hilt, rail users
benefit from taxpayer-funded
subsidies. If the economic
cost of a ticket were charged,
there would always be enough
seats for commuters.
STEVE AINSWORTH,
Halifax, W. Yorks.WIN our Letter Of The Week Magic Mug, courtesy of
Printer Pix. These reveal our Daily Mail Letter Of The
Week design when hot. To create personalised photo gifts
(see example, right), visit printerpix.co.uk. The Letters
Editor will announce the Letter Of The Week each Friday.
Write to: Daily Mail, Letters, 2 Derry Street, Kensington,
London, W8 5TT, email [email protected] or fax onLETTER OF THE WEEK
020 7937 7493, including
your full postal address
and telephone number.Gower out to grass?
It’s just not cricket!
First class: David Gower in 1991SKY had the perfect cricket
commentary team with David Gower,
Sir Ian Botham, Michael Atherton,
David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd, Nasser Hussain
and Michael Holding. They blended
perfectly, commentated with honesty,
wit and knowledge and were a
pleasure to watch.
However, it now appears any Tom,
Dick or Harry can become a cricket
commentator as soon as they finish
their sporting career in county cricket.
Sky had a winning formula, so why
change it?
IRENE ASHLEY, Newcastle upon Tyne.
I AM so sorry Sky Sports is dispensing
with the services of David Gower, a
real class act. I only hope that he is
not going to be replaced by
commentators who talk too much, as
was the case in the Cricket World Cup.
If you were at a match and there were a
group of people sitting behind you
chatting continuously, how long would
it be before you felt compelled to ask
them to be quiet? Watching cricket on
TV, the only option is the mute button.
PAMELA LOBBAN, Poole, Dorset.
SKY no longer wants the services of
David Gower, but he would like to stay
involved with the game. Perhaps heshould get out his old cricket gear as
he might be the answer to England’s
No. 3 batsman problem.
BOB HERBERT,
Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.
SHAME on Sky for dispensing with
Gower, a brilliant and knowledgeable
member of a wonderful commentary
team. This is not a cricketing
decision, but a PC one.
ROY GREGSON, Brighton.
WHAT a wonderful year of cricket we
are having with the World Cup and
the Ashes. However, I believe it is
time to ban the deliberate bouncer.
Why should batsmen have to face a
dangerous missile travelling at
90mph over a distance of 20 yards?
If there is not a ban, I am afraid that
despite safety gear, a batsman is
going to be seriously injured. Surely
the object of the game is to hit the
wickets, not the batsman’s head.
KEN THORPE, York.
JOFRA AFRA is receiving accolades,
but I think his bowling is downright
dangerous. Bowlers should consider
line and length when trying to hit
the wicket.
M. HOLLINGDALE, Ditchling, E. Sussex.Picture: SPORTSPHOTO AGENCY