Hats off to Ian Blackford for telling the truth about Boris Johnson

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How can we respect parliament when an MP – Ian Blackford – is ejected for stating the obvious? (PA Wire)

How can we respect parliament when an MP – Ian Blackford – is ejected for stating the obvious, namely that Boris Johnson is a liar? We all know that lying is Johnson’s stock in trade.

Joanna Pallister

Durham

Hats off to Ian Blackford – and shame on those Tory MPs who have made [Jacob] Rees-Mogg feel the mood is “positive”.

For a report stripped of its teeth, Sue Gray’s still has a vicious bite.  But even with her conclusions – together with revelations of yet more parties the media had not yet picked up – the PM is not called upon to resign for misleading parliament when he said the rules were followed at all times. It is unparliamentary to call the PM a liar.

Katharine Powell

Neston

Spreading the blame

“We are sorry for the mistakes that we have made”, said the prime minister.

The deliberate use of the double “we”, deployed so as to spread the blame far and wide, encompassed each and every Tory MP but not one stood up and stated that they personally did not accept joint responsibility for these failures.

Michael du Pré

Marlow

Imagine if Boris Johnson was a headteacher

Sue Gray’s “update” has added fuel to the Downing Street bonfire and it seems extraordinary that Boris Johnson still manages to dodge the flames and to cling on to his post.

Imagine if a headteacher had been in charge of a school where Covid regulations were clearly and repeatedly broken. Imagine that the headteacher even attended some events in person, there was evidence of excessive consumption of alcohol in the workplace, junior members of staff felt unable to raise concerns about behaviour they witnessed at work and where, as a result of all this, the headteacher and other members of staff are under criminal investigation by the police,

The governors of this imaginary school would at the very least suspend the headteacher while police investigations are carried out; more probably they would instigate dismissal proceedings. What is more, this would be with the backing of the vast majority of parents and the general public.

The prime minister has brought his office into disrepute. He should go now without waiting for the police findings to pull the final trigger.

John Stobbs

Oxford

Fairer electoral representation

There is little doubt that there has been serious wrongdoing at the most senior levels of government but even when the public can be rightly outraged at such cavalier behaviour, there seems to be little inclination to do anything about it.

As the rest of the world looks on with what must amount to horrid fascination while a once powerful nation flounders in a mire of scandal, self-harm and corruption, the British public seems helpless in seeking recourse. We’re reduced to clawing some crumb of comfort from the plethora of jokes about Boris Johnson currently circulating the internet.

If ever the UK needed a complete reset, it is now but it will not be achieved by merely evicting the incumbent in No 10, or even by overturning the whole government. It won’t be achieved by installing Keir Starmer and his crew in their place, either.

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The country needs to rethink its democratic ethos and it should start with the introduction of a fairer electoral system which would see the much needed long-term vision for the country mapped out by a more representative group of people at the top table. Coalition governments can work if the will is there – just ask Germany.

J Wells

Alresford

Apartheid for the people of Palestine

Amnesty International has once again demonstrated its impartiality and evenhandedness in illuminating the gruesome situation in Palestine.

Israel has created a dystopian hellscape on a staggering scale only reminiscent of the apartheid era in South Africa. Palestinians endure daily crimes against humanity and egregious transgressions of their fundamental human rights. Isn’t this enough to shock the consciousness of humankind into saying “never again”?

Dr Munjed Farid Al Qutob

London