Daily Mirror - 05.03.2020

mirror.co.uk THURSDAY 05.03.2020 DAILY MIRROR^41

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write Daily Mirror, One Canada Square, London E14 5AP

NO

13%

YES

87%

■■Today is World Book Day

where schools encourage

children to dress up as their

favourite character from a

book. But why are teachers

asking parents to spend

between £10 and £20-plus to

buy outfits when families and

schools so desperate for cash?

I am sure parents would

rather give the schools £10

per pupil for books for the

classroom or school library

which could be used by

generations of youngsters.

And what about the children

in the world who haven’t had

the chance to read a book?

Yet we are wasting money on

fancy dress outfits.

Valerie Knight

Swindon, Wilts

■■It seems the FA are to issue

a warning to all football teams

not to shake hands as this

could encourage the spread

of the coronavirus. When are

they going to issue a warning

to players to stop spitting and

clearing their noses on to the

grass and sliding on their

knees whenever they score

a goal?

Brian Holland

Bootle, Merseyside

■■Reading about the Grenfell

Inquiry I can’t help thinking it

looks like being another

Hillsborough. I thought the

whole aim of the inquest was

to find out the truth about

why 72 innocent people died

in a preventable disaster, not

to cover up for those

responsible for this tragedy.

Len Goodwin, Doncaster

South Yorks

No need for

book outfits

How many of our daily pub

quiz brainteasers did you

manage to get right?

1. Shinty


2. Tallahassee


3. Bonsai


4. Gin


5. b) 20

Pub quiz answers

No. More scaremongering.

Some people don’t qualify

for sick pay in normal

circumstances so why

should they get it because

of this virus?

Sam Pitt

No. I am afraid self-

employed people and

freelancers will have to

take that hit.

nel SonPj19 80

Yes. This is why viruses

spread round hospitals

so quickly. Without

statutory sick pay,

people on the

minimum wage will

still go into work ill.

RoSe tuRneR

Yes. It should be

made compulsory so

people who get this

awful thing will be

guaranteed full pay

for four weeks or until

they recover.

HibyeSHy

No. They won’t self-

isolate, they’ll lie and

keep mingling with

healthy folk. They won’t

even go to get tested.

Human nature.

HeatHeR edmondS

The PM announced statutory sick pay will

start being paid from day one, not after four

days to help the low paid who may have to

self-isolate. But it still won’t be available to

those who earn less than £118 a week, zero

hours workers or the self-employed.

Should everyone get

sick pay if they have

to self-isolate?

Yes. The self-employed

still pay taxes and

National Insurance. It’s

wrong they get nothing.

andRew moRRiS

YOU R VOIC E Edited by FIOnA PARKeR

Briefings to Johnson must now be

shorter and the comparison to

Margaret Thatcher, who devoured

detailed paperwork, is very

marked. Indeed, he makes even

Theresa May look good!

The baby announcement

detracts from yet another crisis,

this time at the Home Office.

Typical – distract from a problem

instead of dealing with it.

Andy Milroy, Trowbridge, Wilts

■ t is a happy time when a couple I

announce their engagement and

anticipate the birth of their first

child, so good wishes to Boris

Johnson and Carrie Symonds.

However, the decree absolute

hasn’t come through on his divorce

to ex-wife Marina, and their four

children, who aren’t much younger

than Carrie, reportedly hardly

know her. Boris clearly likes to

move on quickly.

Good luck, Carrie, you’ve been

warned.

Diane Silva, Bournemouth

■ oris Johnson’s lethargic and B

inadequate response to the floods

and the coronavirus emergencies

are disgraceful but not surprising.

Like David Cameron before him,

he likes being PM but seemingly

isn’t so keen on doing the work.

Both these privileged ex- Bullingdon

Boys are used to having an easy

ride with everything handed to

them on a silver platter.

John Lee, St Ives, Cambs

■ s it just me or is Boris Johnson’s I

baby announcement a convenient

way of deflecting attention from

the latest Home Office scandal and

his response to the floods and

coronavirus? Thank goodness we

have the Daily Mirror to hold him

to account.

D Bryant, Redcar, North Yorkshire

■ I hope Carrie Symonds knows

what she is letting herself in for

with fly-by-night Boris. I wish them

all the best but you have to wonder

if they’ll stand the test of time.

Heather Noakes, Birmingham

■ BOrIS Johnson has hidden away

in luxury and let junior ministers

face questions about floods, the

coronavirus and every other

problem facing the country.

How convenient then that

he was able to announce his

engagement and impending

fatherhood in the hope that all the

people calling on him to do his job

will go away. We won’t.

Johnson needs to answer urgent

questions about the bullying

allegations against his Home

Secretary and to explain why

Dominic Cummings is apparently

running the country and the

Treasury. Just because we have a

fixed-term parliament does not

mean we have a fixed-term

Prime Minister.

Mary Pester, Saltash, Cornwall

■ I think it is perfectly reasonable

to ask if Prime Minister Johnson’s

announcement of impending

unmarried fatherhood is being

used as a distraction from the

shambolic way our country is

being run under the Tories. It is

also a fine time to deflect the

criticism of his hideous

Home Secretary and so-called

parliamentary advisers. I am

sorry to say we get the

Government we deserve –

and this administration has

to be one of the worst.

Steve Cox, Tonna

West Glamorgan

■ t’s not surprising Boris I

Johnson appears to

have delegated so

much power to

Dominic Cummings, it

allows the PM to do

what he does best – hide

out with his girlfriend.

Our columnist Kevin Maguire says

Boris Johnson’s baby announcement

and forthcoming nuptials proved a

useful distraction from the Priti Patel

bullying allegations and criticism of

Boris’s delayed response to the floods

and coronavirus. You seem to agree...

Boris baby won’t

blind us to crisis

■■Well done, Mirror, for a fine article on the world’s

oldest man, Bob Weighton, who turns 112 on March

29 (February 29). This gentleman has led an

extraordinary life and I’m in total awe. How well he

strove to emphasise his patriotism and showed some

impishness in refusing another birthday card from the

Queen, saying he has one and doesn’t need another.

His lucidity and memory are amazing as he recalled

his experiences in Taiwan and Canada, living through

the Zeppelin raids on Hull in the First World War and

suffering hardship in the 1930s. Not a lover of Brexit,

he thinks people were lied to during the referendum.

What a man and what an example. Bravo to you, Sir!

David Owen, Port Talbot, West Glamorgan

Re s p e c t for 111-y e a r- old

TA K E NOT ICE...

and

WIn

£ 25

This amusing

notice was spotted

by Alan Sollis

from Oxford

while on holiday in

Oban, Scotland.

■■Please send your

funny signs to the

address below.

Sorry, but photos

can’t be returned.

Tweet

of the day

ThE BIG QUESTION

Every day we’ll be asking your opinion on

one of Britain’s big talking points. You can

have your say and vote at mirror.co.uk

Jane McDonald, host of

Channel 5’s Cruising and

Holidaying With shows,

wishes new presenter

Susan Calman all the best...

@TheJaneMcDonald –

I’m so delighted that

@SusanCalman is taking

over Cruising & Holidaying.

She is going to be fabulous!

Wishing you the best of luck

ever Susan. I’m sure you will

have a ball. I certainly did.

Lots of love, Jane xxx

Kevin deserved

to be in icon list

Further to readers’ Top 30

Hollywood stars in response to

Chris Hunneysett’s rundown of

cinema’s greatest icons (Mirror,

March 4), I can’t believe Kevin

Costner wasn’t mentioned.

The Bodyguard is a classic, and

what about Dances with Wolves,

Bull Durham or even Waterworld,

which was a flop at the box office

but not for me?

Also, French cinema legend

Jean-Paul Belmondo has

had a career

spanning six

decades and

deserves to be on

any such list.

Douglas Vick

Cheltenham, Glos

LEGENDS Kevin Costner

in Dances with Wolves,

inset, Jean-Paul Belmondo

ThE BIG ISSUE