The Times - UK - 04.12.2021

32 Saturday December 4 2021 | the times

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor should be sent to

[email protected] or by post to

1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF

saying: “If I was going to a party with

300 or 400 people for Christmas, I

would take a [lateral flow] test before

I go. I think it’s just a sensible

precaution to take.” Presumably, then,

he would be trusting the 399 other

guests to do the same (and to act on

the result), in which case he has more

faith in the common sense of party-

goers than I do. This is an example of

the muddled thinking that underpins

government advice on Covid, which

has alway been driven more by the

government’s desire to court

popularity than by any concern for

public health.

Dr Bob Bury

Leeds

Sir, Ursula von der Leyen, president of

the European Commission, says that

the EU should encourage countries to

consider compulsory vaccination

(thetimes.co.uk, Dec 1). Perhaps she

would consider compulsory

sterilisation as well: overpopulation is

a threat to the planet. Both polices, it

could be argued, could prove

beneficial, but they infringe basic

human rights and are reminiscent of

totalitarian regimes that we abhor.

Ian Rank-Broadley

Stonehouse, Glos

Sir, The introduction of a de facto

lockdown for unvaccinated people

and the proposed vote on mandatory

vaccination show that the totalitarian

impulse remains strong in Germany

(“Unjabbed Germans will be banned

from most shops”, world, Dec 3).

What is worrying is that Germany is

lurching towards totalitarianism from

the centre ground of liberalism. I am

reminded of a quote by Benjamin

Franklin: “Those who would give up

essential liberty, to purchase a little

temporary safety, deserve neither

liberty nor safety.”

Dominic Gallagher

Glenavy, Co Antrim

Sir, Paying at least £2 billion to have

100 million extra doses of vaccine

may make the government look good

but is it wise and is it fair (“Fourth jab

to fight variants”, news, Dec 2)? The

UK is reasonably well protected so

this money might be better spent

setting up vaccination centres in

countries such as South Africa where

the pandemic is rampant and new

variants are most likely to develop.

This is a global problem: no one is

safe until everyone is safe.

Martin McNeill

Richmond, Surrey

Children of taste

Sir, Tim Kerin’s letter (Dec 3) about

his three-year-old son’s love of

hummus reminded me of the time I

was helping out at a lunchtime

cookery club at a primary school. I

was amused to hear one eight-year-

old discussing red wine grape varieties

quite knowledgeably with a friend.

Amanda Jones

St Peter Port, Guernsey

Sir, I advised my 11-year-old grandson

not to reveal that he often has smoked

salmon for breakfast if asked by his

food and nutrition teacher in his new

school about his breakfast, and to

admit to only cereal. Hummus is

reserved as an after-school snack with

or without gherkins, which he may

share with his eight-year-old sister.

Eleanor Ebrahim

Newtownabbey, Co Antrim

Trigger warnings

Sir, Dr J Barrie Reynolds bemoans the

“mollycoddling” of today’s students

(“Warning: this novel contains

fiction”, letter, Dec 2). But surely this

is better than my time studying

English in the early 1980s, when one

male lecturer liked nothing more

than reading the sexually explicit

passages from DM Thomas’s The

White Hotel to a group of 19-year-old

mainly female students.

Paul Baker

Cardiff

I am an actrESS

Sir, I was delighted to read in

Matthew Parris’s Notebook (Dec 1) of

Penelope Keith’s insistence on being

described as an actress. During my 63

years in the profession I have always

checked my contracts carefully, and if

the word “actor” is included have

made a point of Tippexing out the

“or” and proudly replacing it with

“ess” in capital letters.

Gillian Royale

London SW11

Gotta no respect?

Sir, I am enjoying the correspondence

about ukuleles in schools, especially

as it was instigated by a guitar teacher

whose objection seems to be that the

ukulele is not a serious musical

instrument (letters, Nov 30; Dec 1-3).

When I was at school in the 1960s

this was exactly the reason given by

the head of music for refusing to

allow the guitar to be taught.

Howard Jones

Rainow, Cheshire

Sir, In reply to Graham Wade, the

ukulele has a respectable repertoire of

its own, including Shaddap You Face

by Joe Dolce, which kept Vienna by

Ultravox from its rightful No 1 slot.

Mark Palamountain

Lancaster

Simplifying tax

Sir, Lord Lawson of Blaby’s view on

good taxes, mentioned in your leading

article (“Taxing Problem”, Dec 2;

letter, Dec 3), would surely apply to a

radical reform of inheritance tax. A

simple low rate paid by everybody

above a threshold with no exemptions

would yield efficiency and fairness

dividends over and above the costs of

any unintended consequences. One

wonders why none of the political

parties has pursued what would be a

popular policy.

Michael Paterson

London SW20

Corrections and

clarifications

6 We report in today’s Magazine that
the antiviral molnupiravir is 50 per
cent effective at keeping vulnerable
Covid-19 patients out of hospital.
Since the Magazine went to press,
new data has revised that figure down
to about a third.
6 The photograph accompanying the
obituary of Ronald Jones online
(Dec 3) was of the Queen with Sheikh
Zayed of Abu Dhabi, president of the
UAE, not King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.
We apologise for the mistake.

The Times takes
complaints
about editorial
content seriously. We are committed to
abiding by the Independent Press
Standards Organisation (“IPSO”) rules
and regulations and the Editors’ Code of
Practice that IPSO enforces.
Requests for corrections or
clarifications should be sent by email to
[email protected] or by post to
Feedback, The Times, 1 London Bridge
Street, London SE1 9GF

Cambo oilfield

Sir, It is profoundly disturbing that
Nicola Sturgeon should condemn the
Cambo field oil development
(reports, Dec 2 & 3). Of all her many
mistaken choices, this is by far the
worst. By her display of virtue
signalling and political posturing on
this issue she has consigned future
generations of Scots to an uncertain
period of power provision.
There may have been some
justification, of a kind, if she had
signalled that her decision on Cambo
being developed would apply equally
to imported oil from other countries.
But no, it would seem that it is all
right for Middle Eastern countries
and northern European countries to
continue to worsen climate change
and produce and supply us with fossil
fuels to keep our lights on, but not for
Scotland to do so.
Exactly the same argument applies
to electricity generated by nuclear
power stations. The SNP and its
partners are vehemently anti-nuclear
but it seems that it is perfectly
acceptable for Scotland to take in
nuclear-generated power from the
UK (and French) grid.
Our ability to keep our most
vulnerable citizens warm and safe is
deeply compromised. Spin doctors
cannot supply an answer. We and
future generations are at the mercy of
people who do not have a clue.
Alexander McKay
Edinburgh

Faith on the phone

Sir, Your report (“Faith on your
phone”, Dec 3) mentions an app for
Confession produced by the Roman
Catholic Church. The Church of
England has an app, Daily Prayer, for
its traditional worshippers covering
the daily offices of Morning Prayer,
Evening Prayer and Compline. It is
used in many churches and is a model
in these days of Covid for replacing
stocks of prayer books and
expensively produced service sheets.
Peter Smail
Tewkesbury, Glos

Vaccination passports and compulsory jabs

Sir, The government has, rightly, put

a lot of emphasis on its vaccination

programme as the most effective way

of tackling the pandemic. It seems

inexplicable, therefore, that it has

shown such reluctance to employ

some form of vaccination passport

system. Such a system would protect

vaccinated people from likely carriers,

by preventing unvaccinated people

from attending mass events, whether

indoors or not. It would also protect

them from each other.

It seems like a no-brainer. Of

course, we know why the government

will not introduce this measure: it

fears its own backbenchers, and the

accusation that it is ignoring

individual rights. This is clearly

nonsense. People still have the right

to choose whether to have the

vaccine. They do not have the right,

however, to put other people at risk

by that choice.

The government has a powerful

weapon against the virus in its hands

but is afraid to use it effectively. What

a weedy nation we have become.

Dr Ewan McLeish

Marlow, Bucks

Sir, Sajid Javid, the health secretary, is

quoted in your report (news, Dec 1) as

Sir, I disagree with the picture of the

British Virgin Islands (BVI) given in

the Red Box article by Dame

Margaret Hodge and Kevin

Hollinrake (“Economic crime is a

scourge on the nation”, Dec 3). The

BVI’s commitment to tackling

economic crime is well documented.

We were among the first countries to

introduce anti-money laundering

(AML) laws, in 1999. Not only do we

require the beneficial ownership in

respect of every company

incorporated or registered in the BVI,

but unlike the UK this information is

verified by licensed corporate services

providers, which are the only entities

allowed to register a company in the

BVI. These corporate service

providers must by law conduct

customer due diligence, and

enhanced customer due diligence

when required. This information is

available to relevant government

authorities, including law

enforcement such as the UK’s

National Crime Agency, which has

lauded the BVI’s solid co-operation in

fighting financial crimes.

We continue to build a resilient

Offshore havens

financial services industry in which

legitimate business is conducted. We

do this by having robust laws and

transparency, as well as by adhering

to established international standards.

Illicit finance should look elsewhere

for a safe haven, as it will not be

found in the British Virgin Islands.

Elise Donovan

CEO, BVI Finance

from the times december 4, 1921

THE TIMES

CAMPAIGN

FOR PIGEONS

NHS accountability

Sir, The chancellor may have a point

in saying that the NHS must justify

the increase in its funding (report,

Dec 2). However, there was no

mention of how the government is

going to deal with the urgent need for

more doctors and nurses, more of

whom would surely lead to better

care and patient outcomes.

James Roriston

Inverness

Sir, You report that an NHS hospital

is spending £300,000 a year on a

single agency worker (“Stand-in

doctor is costing NHS trust £300,000

a year”, Nov 30). This is a terrible

waste of taxpayers’ money. Recently I

travelled to Lithuania to have a hip

replacement operation. The cost,

including travel, was less than £7,000,

and the service I received was

wonderful. Instead of spending

£300,000 on a single agency worker,

why can’t the NHS send more of its

patients abroad for their operations?

Wendy Webb

Felixstowe, Suffolk

thetimes.co.uk/archive

Winter butterflies

Sir, The red admiral (letter, Dec 3) is

one of a number of butterfly species

that overwinter as adults in a form of

hibernation, waking up in early spring

with the onset of warmer days.

Occasionally on particularly warm

winter days they will wake up too

early and take to the wing; this has

always happened but it may be

occurring with increasing frequency

owing to seemingly warmer winters

over the past few years, possibly

resulting from climate change.

Julian Korn

Long Crendon, Bucks

Letters to The Times must be exclusive

and may be edited. Please include a full

address and daytime telephone number.

The campaign against the barbarous

“sport” of pigeon shooting at Monte

Carlo was opened in The Times on

February 28, when we published a

letter from Mr H W Massingham

protesting against the cruelty and

expressing the indignation it excited

among visitors. In our leading

columns we supported his appeal for

the abandonment of “a subsidized

survival of medieval callousness”.

During March and April letters from

many well-known people appeared

in our columns condemning the

competitions and the repulsive

spectacle of the maimed birds. We

were able to print a message from

the Prince of Monaco stating that he

would gladly place himself at the

head of a movement to suppress the

use of live pigeons, not at Monte

Carlo only, but also in other

countries. That the suppression of

the practice was needed in this

country had been manifest from the

beginning, for on the day we

published Mr Massingham’s letter

two correspondents wrote giving

information concerning pigeon

shooting competitions at Great

Baddow, near Chelmsford, and at

Newbury, and particulars of similar

events at Chatham, Perivale, and

elsewhere were soon forthcoming.

As a result of the publicity in The

Times public opinion was aroused

and, acting on our suggestion, the

Royal Society for the Prevention of

Cruelty to Animals inquired into the

legal position and confirmed that the

law then in force was inadequate. No

time was lost in preparing a Bill

prohibiting the shooting of captive

birds, and this measure was piloted

through the House of Commons by

Sir Burton Chadwick and through

the House of Lords by Lord

Lambourne, the Government

affording facilities for its passage. It

is now the law, thanks to the support

we received from the public, many of

whom had been ignorant of the

existence of the practice. On May 24

we were able to state that the

directors of the Casino at Monte

Carlo had decided that living

pigeons should be replaced by clay

birds in the shooting competitions

there. At Biarritz also we were

assured that the Comité des Fetes had

unanimously decided that “out of

respect for the very proper prejudice

of English visitors” that body would

not give support, moral or financial,

to any pigeon shooting enterprise.