Letters: The free world owes Ukraine its continued and unwavering support

SIR – The cost of the war in Ukraine to the world economy is incalculable. The cost of providing all the military resources it requires to repel the Russians would be negligible in comparison.

It is therefore mystifying that a number of countries are considering withdrawing further support on the basis of cost, while Ukrainians die in their thousands to protect their country from the greatest Russian mass murderer since Stalin. 

We should all be on our knees giving thanks to them.

Michael Fabb
Chobham, Surrey

SIR – Con Coughlin (Comment, November 16) suggests that the West is conspiring to sell out Ukraine, and that President Joe Biden, with an election looming, has little interest in the conflict. 

If this is the case, it is appalling. President Biden obviously failed to foresee the consequences of his reluctance to send Ukraine the F-16 fighter aircraft and long-range missiles for which President VolodymyrZelensky had been pleading.
Forcing Ukraine to fight its counter-offensive with limited long-range resources went against all military logic and has cost many Ukrainian lives, all for the sake of not provoking Vladimir Putin. 

Support for Ukraine against Russia is strong across the populations of Britain and Europe, and a betrayal of the Ukrainian people for political reasons will undoubtedly be answered for at the ballot box.

B J Colby
Bristol
 

Braverman’s new plan

SIR – Apparently Suella Braverman has a better plan than Rishi Sunak for sending illegal immigrants to Rwanda (Commentary, November 17). 

Why, then, did she not implement it when she was home secretary? And if she was prevented from doing so, why did she not resign?

Alan Law
Streatley, Berkshire

SIR – One wonders what the Prime Minister considers an emergency if he is prepared to spend time fiddling with immigration and treaty law, despite having been offered a well-considered and rapid plan by his erstwhile home secretary.

A T Brookes
Charlwood, Surrey

SIR – Suella Braverman continues to engage in the kind of posturing that proved to be her undoing as home secretary.
Her suggestions would guarantee two things. First, by ignoring the law the Government would simply tee up a further legal challenge. Secondly, it would set a precedent whereby the law could be ignored when it did not suit a government’s purpose. 

What I see here, rather than a serious policy plan, is a barely disguised attempt by Mrs Braverman to burnish her credentials with the Right. She may be succeeding with many – but not with me. Law, precedent, decency and the principles of competent government are not mere inconveniences to be ignored. 

Stephen Drage
Devizes, Wiltshire

SIR – Several readers have said that they can no longer vote Conservative (Letters, November 17).
In the two elections of 1974, the first resulting in a hung parliament, I voted Liberal for the first and last times, having become fed up with the Heath government’s weak management. 

All that did was help let in the worst government we have ever had, which in the following five years presided over a rise in inflation to 26 per cent and government bond yields to 16 per cent, a top tax rate of 83 per cent, a visit from the International Monetary Fund and the Winter of Discontent.

I shall not make a similar mistake at the next general election.

Donald R Clarke
Tunbridge Wells, Kent

SIR – When I resigned my Conservative Party membership (Letters, November 17), having concluded that the party is no longer fit for purpose, I requested a refund for the months left this year.

What I received was the cost of a full 12 months – proving that the party is a shambles all round.

Sue Beale
Maidenhead, Berkshire

 

Middle East education

SIR – As a teacher of English at a large comprehensive school, I was sometimes asked to cover the odd history lesson as I had quite a keen interest in the subject. I was dismayed to find that my pupils – who were deemed to be the more academically able of their peers – had very little knowledge of the two world wars, and no knowledge of the history of Israel and Palestine.

These children had been in the British education system for at least 10 years. I sometimes wonder if any of them have been among the crowds marching in support of the Palestinians.

Philip Woolcock
Preston, Lancashire

SIR – You report (November 17) that, according to Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, officers cannot stop pro-Palestinian protesters climbing on war memorials.

These memorials mean a great deal to us. They are a lasting, physical presence, and part of our culture. I question the education afforded to those who act in a way that belittles our heroes, who laid down their young lives in the field of conflict. 

People who use these memorials in their protests should be given no reason to doubt that British people do not tolerate this lack of respect for our history.

Graham Marks
Chester

SIR – I was deeply concerned to read a headline (report, November 16) which asserted that Christmas decorations in Bethlehem would be cancelled this year “to honour Hamas ‘martyrs’”, and relieved to see that it had been corrected the same day in the online version. 

A misunderstanding can be gained if one doesn’t grasp the way that Palestinians use the word “martyr”. It is applied to anyone – man, woman, child or baby – who dies as a result of the conflict with Israel. It does not refer specifically to those who engage in an armed uprising, and the churches reject violence as a way to oppose Israel’s occupation of Palestine. 
Church leaders in the Holy Land have called for Christmas festivities to be subdued this year to reflect a time of sadness and grief owing to the continuing war in Gaza, and to stand strong with those facing such afflictions. 

Church leaders have also called for Christians in the Holy Land to keep a spiritual focus through Advent and Christmas. In this time of distressing international conflict, it is a message that all people of faith would do well to heed.

Very Rev Canon Richard Sewell
Dean of St George’s College, Jerusalem
 

The greed and ingenuity of man’s best friend

SIR – Helen Cann’s letter (November 15) about her dog, Basil, stealing the Quality Street chocolates made me laugh out loud.

Teddy, our labradoodle, did exactly the same thing a couple of Christmases ago. The sealed tin of chocolates and toffees was on a shelf, but he managed to open it and help himself to most of the contents.

He was very unwell afterwards.

Scilla Cherry
Iping, West Sussex

SIR – One Christmas, while my wife and I were out, Rupert, our beloved labrador, found a box of After Eights under the tree.

We returned home to find that the outer wrapping had been removed and the box opened. Each of the mints had been carefully taken out of their paper case, and the lid shut again.

It was back to the vet and another £700 bill.

Stuart Carvell
Sheffield, South Yorkshire

SIR – Years ago, my wife and I returned home to find that our hound, Bertie, had removed all the chocolates from the Christmas tree, but had somehow managed to leave their foil wrappers hanging in place, virtually intact.

Chris Austin
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

SIR – A dreadful car accident left Bacchus, my old spaniel, with a crippling back injury. 

Nevertheless, drawn by the irresistible smell, every Easter he would laboriously climb the stairs to where the children had hidden their chocolate eggs and scoff the lot.

Pamela Nethersole
Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex 

SIR – When my daughters were small, treats were limited in our house. 

On one occasion a packet of chocolate biscuits went missing. No culprit was identified, although suspicion centred around one person. The following week a packet of chocolate bars disappeared; again, no one owned up. I said: “Perhaps the person who took the biscuits took the chocolate bars as well.”

One daughter piped up indignantly: “No I didn’t!”

Eve Wilson
Hill Head, Hampshire
 

Hapless ministers 

SIR – John S Bridger (“Stubborn Civil Service”, Letters, November 16) is right. We all know that the country is run by civil servants. The tenure of most minsters does not give them enough time to get a full grip on the department they are supposed to be running. 

The Home Office, in particular, is a department that spends its time creating problems or delays when it should be finding solutions.

Heather Remblance
Gloucester

SIR – John S Bridger states that he used to feel proud of the Civil Service but no longer does. 

As a 90-year-old who visited Whitehall during the Wilson and Heath periods in the 1970s, I can assure him that it was populated by people who were just as arrogant and unprofessional as they appear to be today. 

Sir Humphrey is alive and well, but he is no longer amusing.

George W Reeves
Cockshutt, Shropshire

 

Incentive to downsize

SIR – Let me explain the reluctance of many older people to downsize (Letters, November 17): we have worked hard and are now fortunate to live in lovely houses with happy memories, relatively large gardens and delightful neighbours. 

Why would we want to give this up – and pay the Government a substantial sum for the privilege? If, however, the Government were to introduce a one-off downsizing reduction in – or exemption from – stamp duty, that might soften the blow.

Tony Parrack
London SW20

SIR – With regard to the bungalow shortage (Letters, November 17), I have some advice.

If you would like to buy one, move to my part of Leicestershire, where there is a plethora of single-storey properties. I purchased one four years ago.

Andrew Glover
Oadby, Leicestershire

Pipe ploy

SIR – I worked for Cheshire County Council in the occupational health service. 

I never saw my boss, the chief medical officer, smoke – but he never attended a meeting without his pipe (Letters, November 17), which he used as a prop in order to gain thinking time when faced with an awkward question. 
It never ceased to amaze me how long people would wait patiently for him to complete the ritual of emptying and then refilling it. 

The pipe was never lit.

Renee Mcdowall
Daventry, Northamptonshire

Offbeat advice

SIR – I have been thinking of buying a children’s drumkit as a Christmas present for my grandson, who loves music. 
Imagine my surprise, however, when I noticed the following product safety warning: “Do not use during thunderstorms.”

Dr Alan B Thomas
Warrington, Cheshire

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