A couple of billion on no-deal Brexit? What an egregious waste of money

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We have all become used to politicians’ utterances being less than 100 per cent truthful, however it is hard to reconcile the government’s plans to spend £2.1bn on what they have described as the vanishingly small possibility of a no-deal scenario. Their latest pathetic attempt to spin the blame onto the EU with their latest mantra of “the undemocratic backstop” is an insult to our intelligence, but no doubt will influence the unthinking Leavers.

G Forward
Stirling

What will it take for the British public to realise that the billions being spent on no-deal planning isn’t financial probity but is in fact a self-inflicted waste of money?

S Lawrence
Enfield

I see that our new prime minister Johnson is proposing to spend another £2.1bn on no-deal planning, and a further £100m on advertising what he himself has described as a “million to one” chance event. I’m afraid that I don’t have the side of a bus to hand, so I was wondering if I might be permitted to plaster this message across the letters page of your esteemed organ instead:

“We’re spaffing £4.3bn (and rising) on Johnson’s latest vanity project. Let’s spend it on the NHS instead.”

Julian Self
Wolverton

Why rape suspects should be given anonymity

Stella Creasy MP makes an irrational assumption when she advances the idea that “anonymising suspected sex abusers would amount to ‘basing actual law-making on the belief women lie’.” I trust she is aware of the recent incident in Cyprus in which 12 youths were accused of rape.

Anonymising both accuser and accused, regardless of the crime involved, preserves the essential feature of the administration of the law that all are equal before it and all are innocent until proven guilty.

The new justice secretary also is in error in positing that suspects “of good character” should be treated differently. One man’s “good character” is another man’s fellow mason/party or tribe member.

The administration of justice must not be a spectator blood sport. It must be spotlessly impartial at all times and in all circumstances. Anonymity should only be lifted upon final conviction – after any appeals are fully exhausted.

Steve Ford
Haydon Bridge

Why not campaign for PR, Mr Cleverly?

Tory party chairman James Cleverly has the nerve to complain about the Liberal Democrats “playing dirty” in the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election. Their alleged offence was to do a deal with other parties in order to give local people a better chance of a non-Tory MP under the present unfair voting system.

I would remind Mr Cleverly that the previous Tory MP played dirty by falsifying his expenses and then had the nerve to stand again for the same seat. Fortunately the voters passed the correct judgment on him.

If Mr Cleverly was sincere in his wish for clean elections, he would join the campaign for a fair proportional voting system that truly reflects the wishes of electors. But then, being a Tory turkey, he’s not going to vote for Christmas.

Sam Boote
Keyworth

Whatever the weather

Call it global warming, climate change or the natural cyclical change of weather, it has been confirmed without doubt that the UK can’t handle too much sunshine, too much snow or too much rain.

Peter Flynn
Sheffield