LETTERS
torture. Then, in 2010, he admitted throwing
a grenade which killed the US soldier in
return for being allowed to serve out his
sentence in Canada. The then-Conservative
Canadian government made many attempts
to delay Omar’s legal return to Canada, but
he was transferred in 2012 and released on
bail in 2015. His $10 million compensation
stems from an earlier Canadian Supreme
Court ruling that Ottawa violated his
constitutional rights in its dealings with the
US during his years in Guantanamo.
Whatever one’s views of the Khadr
family and the completely unrelated cases
of the Isis jihadis being denied return to
the UK, the fact is that Omar was under
the influence of his militant father and was
a minor when the incident occurred, and
hardly deserving of the years of torture
and denial of due process he endured
after his arrest.
Simon Beck
TorontoIn defence of RS
Sir: My commiserations to Emmy Liddle,
whose parents wouldn’t let her choose
Religious Studies as a GCSE, even though
she adored the subject (‘Anything can be
blamed on a “condition”’, 24 August). Rod
Liddle blames the subject for encouraging
the ‘confected outrage’ often suffered by
those who dare to disagree with prominent
lobby groups. I couldn’t disagree more.
In my experience, Religious Studies is the
antidote to all kinds of illogical thinking
— instead asking students to critically
consider a wide range of beliefs, practices
and ideas. It is a wonderful subject for
encouraging the younger generation to
think for themselves, and not just accept
the shibboleths passed down to them.
I might add that one of my students
this summer was awarded a top mark for
making the case for the reintroduction
of the death penalty. Surely this couldn’t
happen if the subject is as timid as Rod
Liddle suggests.
Fiona Barker (Religious Studies teacher)
Dollar, ClackmannanshireMarnus’s magnificence
Sir: Like Roger Alton, I have the highest
regard for Marnus Labuschagne (Sport, 24
August). My only quibble is that as a devout
Christian, he should not play on Sundays, as
he did to maddening effect at Lord’s.
Alasdair Ogilvy
Stedham, West SussexWRITE TO US
The Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London
SW1H 9HP; [email protected]Harry’s army career
Sir: I believe Jan Moir has misread
the situation over Harry and Meghan
(‘By royal disappointment’, 24 August).
Shortly after Prince Harry left school he
was filmed leading drill as a cadet. He was
grinning ear to ear, clearly enjoying himself.
Harry flourished in the army, which made
his leaving it in 2015 such a surprise. In
an interview at the time, he related the
struggles of ‘trying to get the balance right’
between royal and military life.
Prince Harry’s army career was a
tremendous boon to the monarchy, and
I never understood why the royal family
gave that asset up. All of the Duke of
Sussex’s ‘woke’ entanglements have been
a search for a new sense of purpose after
his vocation was denied him. Even if the
prince has ruffled some political feathers,
he is clearly seeking to achieve Jan Moir’s
‘standards of public service’ and do good
for the royal family and the British people.
If anything, that should make him more
deserving of our sympathy, understanding
and encouragement.
Robert Frazer
Salford, Greater Manchester
Royal travels
Sir: Charles Moore is quite wrong in
believing that we are not a civilised enough
people to be trusted to leave the royals
alone if they travel on public transport
(The Spectator’s Notes, 24 August). Here
in north Norfolk we are extremely civilised
about it. The Queen comes on a regular
scheduled public train from London
to King’s Lynn every December. The
Cambridges travel on the same line, with
children and dog, plus just one policeman.
The latter shop locally, as a family or
individually, again with a security officer
only. I was in a toy shop with them last
year. The Duchess of Cornwall does her
Christmas shopping in a small market
town near my home every year. Nothing
closes for them and there are no special
arrangements. We let them get on with it,
and for the most part we ignore them in
the nicest possible way. It is the way they
like it to be when they are off duty, and if
the Sussexes travelled on that train line or
came shopping here, the same would apply.
Susan Hill
Little Thornage, Norfolk
A bookish king
Sir: To assert, as Charles Moore does, that
no monarch since the 17th century has
shown an inclination to read serious books
is surely to traduce George III. Here was a
king who read widely and deeply, and who
assembled a great royal library in which
other bibliophiles, ranging from Dr Johnson
to John Adams, could do the same. We are
fortunate that his otherwise dim son and
successor had the wit to donate his father’s
collection to the nation.
Geoffrey Carr
London SW18T he case of O m ar K hadr
Sir: Douglas Murray’s condemnation of
the Canadian government’s compensation
to the post-9/11 Guantanamo detainee
Omar Khadr leaves out some important
details that help explain the decision
(‘Who’ll be the next jihadi-jackpot winner?’,
24 August). Omar was only 15 when,
following 9/11 and under the influence
of his (admittedly odious) father, he was
captured after a firefight in Afghanistan
in which a US Army medic was killed and
Omar shot twice in the back. Despite the
fact that Omar was a minor, following his
capture he was taken to Bagram and then
Guantanamo Bay, where he was detained
for years under its well-documented
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