The West has finally rediscovered its resolve in the fight against terror

Telegraph

4 hours ago

SIR – The American and Israeli operations against Iran (Letters, June 23) represent a profound reassertion of Western resolve in the face of state terror. These countries have shown that it is possible to confront a regime bent on acquiring weapons of mass destruction with moral clarity rather than appeasement.
They have weakened an Iranian state that has for decades spewed undiluted hatred against the West, and sponsored murderous terrorism across the globe. Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump have made the world a safer place.
Dr Jeremy Havardi
Director, B'nai B'rith UK Bureau of International Affairs
Pinner, Middlesex
SIR – Before his re-election, President Trump frequently said that he would end wars and bring about world peace during a second term. However, since his inauguration the wars in Gaza and Ukraine have deepened, with no signs of the promised peace agreements, and we are now faced with a potential catastrophe in the Middle East.
Perhaps those who voted for him are now realising that the trust they put in him was misguided.
Anthony Haslam
Farnham, Surrey
SIR – The American raid on Iran's nuclear facilities was a masterpiece of military planning and execution, but it is too soon to be cock-a-hoop about the results, and a fact-based intelligence assessment must be awaited. That said, President Trump's resoluteness will have sent a strong message to Moscow and other potential adversaries.
Further enrichment of Iranian uranium has been impeded, if not stopped altogether. However, it seems likely that at least some stocks were dispersed before the attack took place. Although these may be insufficient to make a fission weapon, their very existence constitutes a real and present threat to Iran's enemies. The regime in Tehran is heavily beleaguered and may well resort to desperate measures, including the unconventional.
The price of true security is maximum vigilance.
Air Commodore Michael Allisstone
Chichester, West Sussex
SIR – Have those marching in support of Iran (report, June 22) never heard of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was held by the regime for six years on bogus espionage charges? Have the women waving placards in support of the Supreme Leader ever been to Iran?
I have. My visa photograph had to have no hair showing. My clothes had to be long and baggy, and sandals had to be worn with socks. No bare flesh was allowed. The only time I could remove my headscarf was in the hotel bedroom. Ordinary people would accost us in the street, begging us to ask our prime minister to help them get rid of the 'evil mullahs'.
Susan Day
Sutton Coldfield
Assisted dying division
SIR – Opponents of the assisted dying Bill are all crying foul now that it has passed through the House of Commons.
Your Leading Article (June 21) was aghast that nearly 10 per cent of deaths in Canada are now 'assisted'. Could this possibly be because the majority of the population is in favour of simple compassion?
S Marco (Letters, June 21) writes that, in 25 years working in a hospice, he has seen several family members and friends die peacefully, without pain. I would suspect that he saw many more patients who didn't – and there are, of course, plenty of people who do not get the benefit of access to a palliative care facility.
On the same page, Keith Phair says that there should be a national referendum on the issue. Is he aware that repeated polls have shown that about 75 per cent of the population think that assisted dying should be legal in principle?
For once, Parliament has reflected the will of the people. It should now make every effort to ensure that the law is enacted as soon as possible.
Chris and Ray Knight
Thaxted, Essex
SIR – Many people, including academics, fear that they will not be taken seriously if they are thought to hold views that are founded on faith.
Having ministered to the dying as a Roman Catholic priest for decades, I can't recall a single instance of anyone dying in severe pain or approaching death with great suffering. Indeed, I witnessed very many peaceful and calm deaths, even of the extremely ill. Palliative care can provide all that is necessary to allow folk to meet death with real dignity.
As a person of faith (but not, I think, a zealot), I happen to agree with the sentiments so neatly expressed by Professor June Andrews ('Alarming implications of the assisted dying Bill', Letters, June 23). I am shocked at the recklessness of what the Government has done, and I fear that it is now too late to rescue this tragic situation.
Fr Terry Martin
Rottingdean, East Sussex
Reform and non-doms
SIR – I appreciate that Nigel Farage is trying to make Reform UK electable, but if he is going to resort to classic socialism to get his party into government – charging non-doms £250,000 to give to the lowest paid in our society (report, June 23) – he will not be getting my vote.
That will be going to the party that promises to simplify and streamline government, produce radical plans to attract inward investment, reduce taxes across the board and generally stop interfering with our lives.
Georgina Stanger
Caerwent, Monmouthshire
SIR – How disappointing it was to read the article by Nigel Farage (Comment, June 23). Do we really need two parties 'of working people'?
His reasoning was very difficult to understand: what does 'the lives of everyday British citizens' mean?
Tennis with no chat
SIR – I watched the recent French Open tennis tournament on the Discovery+ channel, which gave me the choice of commentary or 'ambient noise' (Letters, June 23).
To be allowed to watch such great tennis matches without the irritating banalities produced by commentators was a blessed relief.
Jack Fillingham
Stroud, Gloucestershire
Peerage rules
SIR – Lady Kinvara Balfour calls for the abolition of male primogeniture in the succession to peerages.
Every society has its own traditions concerning inheritance. In England, we see the traditional predominance of male primogeniture, but also, in some places, the custom of Borough English, whereby estates pass by default to the youngest male offspring.
In the 20th century, we saw the growth of estates being partitioned among all offspring, and even the fiscal incentivisation of inheritance by spouses. Peerages work differently. Their succession is determined by the conditions of their creation. Most (not all) modern peerages descend by male primogeniture to the exclusion of female lines, but older English peerages do allow for female succession, as do most Scottish titles.
Campaigners often wish to alter the rules so that the eldest daughter may inherit, even if there are younger brothers, and they take the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 as their inspiration. They tend to argue on grounds of sexual equality. Such a change would not settle the matter, as it would open up complaints on the basis of age discrimination.
It would be much more sensible to accept that each peerage is unique and that each creation reflects the mores of its time. It should not be surprising if, now that writs of summons to Parliament will no longer be issued to hereditary peers, the Crown were to create hereditary peeresses, with their succession remaindered to heirs female. This would add yet another stitch to the colourful quilt that is the gradually evolving British constitution.
Shoe of respect
SIR – My mother thought that asking visitors to remove their shoes (Letters, June 23) indicated that my carpets were more important than their comfort. I agree.
Rosie Clarke
Nailsea, Somerset
SIR – I live in a three-storey house. Visitors who remove their shoes can go upstairs to the carpeted lounge. Those who don't are led to the dining room, which has a slate floor. No one feels like they are missing out, as, while the lounge has comfortable seats, the dining room has views and access to the garden.
Stephen Bloor
Telford, Shropshire
Lessons in eating toast at the breakfast table
SIR – Having read Mary Lovell's fascinating book, The Mitford Girls, I anticipated the televised version with interest ('Debutantes are gone, but the class divide remains', Features, June 21).
The attention to detail is excellent, though there is perhaps one instance of inaccuracy – regarding the partaking of toast at the breakfast table.
As children we were taught that toast was never to be buttered in one go and eaten whole. We were instructed to break it into smaller pieces, and then add a little butter and jam, honey or marmalade from the side of our plates as we ate.
However, when we returned hungry from school in the afternoon, we were fed mountains of hot buttered toast. In this case, for practical reasons, the butter was spread over the entirety of the slice, but even then it was cut into neat triangles.
The only other exception was when we were offered Marmite, a smidgen of which was scraped across the piece of toast – though it was still never devoured whole in the fingers.
Bryony Hill
Hard work wasted thanks to strawberry thieves
SIR – I congratulate Christine Williams (Letters, June 23) on so successfully growing colossal quantities of strawberries.
I have fed, watered, weeded, sheltered and nurtured my strawberries for many months, watching them grow, flower and fruit. And now the blasted blackbirds have eaten the lot.
I am too soft and stupid to stop this blatant theft.
Andrew Barker
Elkstone, Gloucestershire
SIR – I have been eating strawberries grown in my modest suburban garden for breakfast and dinner for the past two weeks – with enough left over for my Pimm's. I have a few plants, and the fruits are tastier than those in the shops, which are bred for appearance and shelf life, not flavour.
David Oliver
Langley, Berkshire
SIR – During summers in the late 1960s, my school friends and I picked strawberries in South Gloucestershire. We were allowed to eat as many as we wanted, and strawberry fights were common – but only if we used spoiled fruit. Woe betide anyone who wasted strawberries that were saleable.
Letters to the Editor
We accept letters by email and post. Please include name, address, work and home telephone numbers.
ADDRESS: 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 0DT
EMAIL: [e-mail]
FOLLOW: Telegraph Letters @LettersDesk