3 days ago
Tough talk won't be sufficient to defend Britain from her enemies
SIR – Nothing sums up the failings of this Government better than the Prime Minister's grandiose statements on the necessity of effective defence, accompanied by a refusal to pledge the necessary budget.
Even the absurdity of the promise to spend 3 per cent of GDP on defence in nine years' time – a figure plainly inadequate now, never mind in 2034 – was rendered the more so for being hastily qualified as an 'ambition'.
In the meantime, the eternal truth remains: compromise on defence, and nothing else is secure.
Philip J Ashe
Garforth, West Yorkshire
SIR – Thank goodness our enemies will wait until 2034 before attacking us.
Nicholas Block
Sturminster Newton, Dorset
SIR – The PM has pledged to build 12 new attack submarines – one every 18 months. This will require a significant improvement on past performance.
The Astute programme began in 1986, almost 40 years ago, and the seventh and final boat in the class is not due to be delivered until 2026, seven years after being laid down. By then the first, HMS Astute, will have been in service for 16 years.
Astute was laid down in 2001, and since then build delays and cost overruns have been lamentable. Considering that we previously had experience of building several classes of such submarines for far less cost and in less time, this is not encouraging.
Neil Russell
Portsmouth, Hampshire
SIR –There's no point in planning to build 12 new attack submarines unless the Navy has a credible strategy to recruit a sufficient number of officers to command them.
In the past 10 years, only half the number required to sustain the submarine force have passed the gruelling command qualification course, creating a vicious circle of decline, which will soon be unrecoverable. The extent of the problem was illustrated last year, when the Navy was ridiculed for having advertised on LinkedIn to find a retired rear-admiral to lead the submarine service.
Rear Admiral Philip Mathias (retd)
Southsea, Hampshire
SIR – One wonders whether, as a nation, we are willing to pay the price financially, politically and culturally, as we did during the Cold War, when the threat felt real and collective resilience was part of the national psyche.
At recent VE Day events, we were reminded of a time when Britain understood the value of shared sacrifice and national preparedness. Defence is not merely a line in the budget; it is a reflection of our willingness to protect what we hold dear, and our capacity to act together with resolve when history demands it.
John O'Brien
Ukraine holds firm
SIR – Ukraine's audacious and meticulously planned attack on military aviation assets across Russia has astounded the world (report, June 2). That the operation was kept secret for 18 months was itself an extraordinary achievement. Withholding the information from Donald Trump was a wise decision for two reasons: he might have sought to dissuade President Zelensky from going through with the plan; and operational security would have been placed at unnecessary risk.
Mr Zelensky has proved himself to be a worthy, courageous and charismatic leader of a beleaguered yet defiant nation, which has held Russia at bay for more than three brutal years. The will of Ukraine's people to fight for their survival, and resist the illegal subjugation of their sovereign nation, remains strong and unyielding.
Ukraine deserves all the support that its allies can provide – and Donald Trump must now acknowledge that he is indeed being 'tapped along' by Vladimir Putin.
David Platts
Newark, Nottinghamshire
Rebuilding Gaza
SIR – Since the October 7 2023 attacks by Hamas, Israel has had to defend itself, leading to charges of committing genocide; intentionally targeting civilians, schools, and hospitals; starving Gazans; and violating prisoners' rights. Whether one believes that Israel is guilty of these charges or that it has every right to do what's necessary to protect its citizens, many crucial questions remain.
At some point, there will be a lasting ceasefire. Which countries will risk the lives of their soldiers to serve as peacekeepers? Which will finance the rebuilding of Gaza? How many years of rebuilding will it take to bring Gazans to the same level of existence they had on October 6 2023? Will Gazans ever be permitted to work inside Israel, as many did before the war began?
I don't pretend to have any of these answers, but with America getting diplomatically and militarily closer to multiple countries in the region, it's incumbent on Donald Trump's administration to formulate an acceptable framework among Israel, its neighbouring countries, and global powers in Europe and Asia to end the suffering of Gazans.
Paul L Newman
Merion Station, Pennsylvania, USA
Hare loss
SIR – We have a thriving hare population (Letters, June 2), but hare coursers know this and visit frequently to practise their illegal sport.
The police show no interest in apprehending them, even when the hare coursers have their vehicle stuck in a ditch and don't need chasing.
Jonathan Yardley
Wolverhampton
Brown beer mix
SIR – Your feature (May 31) on the demise of the term 'bitter' in favour of 'amber ales' reminded me of my time as a student in the Clarks company town of Street in Somerset in the early 1970s.
As it was Quaker-dominated, finding a pub, let alone a decent ale, was a challenge. Instead, the tipple of choice for myself and my fellow students was a 'brown split'. This was created by mixing a half of the local keg beer (generally the ubiquitous Watney's Red Barrel) with a bottle of brown ale, ideally one from Newcastle. This satisfied my needs until the welcome arrival of real ales later in the decade.
Geoff Pringle
Long Sutton, Somerset
Conservative betrayal
SIR – The Conservative Party is dead. The only ones who haven't realised it yet are the party itself and the dwindling loyalists clinging to the wreckage. They're staggering around like political zombies – no soul, no direction, no credibility, kept alive only by inertia and blind tribal loyalty.
The Conservatives have betrayed their voters on every major issue: immigration, national sovereignty, economic stability and freedom of speech. They promised conservative values and delivered managed decline, globalist appeasement and spineless governance. Their base is abandoning them in droves – and rightly so. The public have had enough of the lies, the empty slogans and the broken promises. What's left is a hollowed-out shell of a party that exists only to cling to power, not to serve the nation.
It's time to stop pretending that reform can come from within. The only path forward is to tear down the failed establishment – and that means rejecting both the Conservatives and Labour. Anyone who wants to see real change in Britain needs to vote for Reform UK, and help drive a stake through the heart of this walking corpse once and for all.
HMRC incompetence
SIR – Being a UK resident, I had to complete an Irish form for the recovery of tax from the Irish Commissioners. This form has to be countersigned by HMRC.
On August 23 2024, I sent the form with a covering letter to HMRC for its endorsement. I heard nothing, and sent a chaser letter in November, and still heard nothing.
Last week, nine months later, I received a letter from HMRC with the form duly endorsed. Unfortunately, it was not the original form, but a copy. Its letter says that the 'copy has been authorised by one of our officers' and 'if Ireland does not accept this, please fill in and send us a new form'.
Words fail me.
Anne Preece
Caldy, Wirral
Duke as chancellor
SIR – Prince Philip held the office of Chancellor of the University of Cambridge (Letters, June 2) with great dignity and distinction from 1976 to 2011. I can think of no better person to fill the current vacancy than the present Duke of Edinburgh.
Derek Wellman
Lincoln
Put wild camping on a sustainable footing
SIR – Ben East (Features, June 2) gives a useful summary of the dilemma facing the Government as to how to handle the demand for more wild camping provision in England. Living in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, we often see tents in pleasant spots, usually owned by young campers, who are probably of limited means.
However, there is good provision locally of regulated sites in nice locations, and I'd oppose any moves by the Government to introduce wild camping rights in this area similar to those enjoyed in Scotland. Perhaps a compromise would be to make more wild camping areas available in selected National Parks and AONBs, for a maximum of six tents, to be controlled by permits issued by the local ranger office. Owners of any private land used would be entitled to an annual fee to be paid by the taxpayer.
This is not an ideal solution, but at least when arriving at your favourite Lake District tarn, you would be unlikely to find too many other campers.
Ian Graham
Carlisle, Cumbria
Benefits for foreign staff working in the NHS
SIR – While it may be statistically true that 'benefits claims by households with at least one foreign national have doubled to nearly £1 billion a month' (report, May 31), your article did not consider the advantages that many of these foreigners bring to this country.
I was in an NHS hospital last week with a family member who received fantastic care from a consultant from Hong Kong, a doctor from eastern Europe, nurses from the Philippines, care workers from Portugal and Nigeria, and a porter from Portugal.
Most such workers pay more in tax than they claim in benefits. I do not begrudge them claiming child benefit if they have children, or similar benefits that others in this country are able to claim.
Philip Thomas
Pudsey, West Yorkshire
SIR – The news that foreign nationals are being paid nearly £1 billion a month in benefits is truly shocking, but hardly surprising given that illegal migrants continue to arrive in increasing numbers, safe in the knowledge that once they have landed on our shores and entered the asylum system, there is very little chance of them being returned to their country of origin or elsewhere.
There is absolutely no deterrent. A string of absurd decisions by immigration tribunals has allowed claimants leave to remain in the UK on the basis of increasingly ludicrous evidence.
This is not what the British public voted for, and their growing anger and frustration with this situation is understandable.
