Boris Johnson quickly defended football a few weeks ago – Middle East conflict needs the same urgency

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Palestinians check the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip (AFP via Getty Images)

International law is consistently broken in the Middle East and the UK has a duty to stand up for basic human rights. This is about humanity. You don’t need faith to care for victims in the Israel-Palestine conflict, you just need to be human.

The UK was quick to rally in its defence of our national sport a few weeks ago – indeed legislation was mooted to address the issue by Boris Johnson. The same urgency needs to be shown now to stop the atrocities of the past week. The world needs to stand up for humanity and to uphold international law.

Yasmin Ataullah

Address supplied

Disability inclusion

For Global Accessibility Awareness Day (20 May), we write as CEO’s and leaders that support The Valuable 500 – a global movement committed to addressing disability inclusion in business.   

We believe disability inclusion must be led from the top of business. The latest research from Tortoise Media shows that only 5 per cent of FTSE 100 companies have issued board-level statements on disability as part of their leadership agenda. This isn’t good enough – businesses need to be intersectional in their approach and prioritise disability inclusion alongside other inclusion efforts. 

In 2019, the UK’s Click-Away Pound survey found that business lost £17.1bn due to customers abandoning a retail website because of lack of accessibility. In a world that is rapidly digitising, it is more important than ever that online services and communications are accessible to all. To achieve this, companies must put inclusion at the forefront of their decision-making to ensure no one is left behind.  

With a combined spending power of $13 trillion (£9.8 trillion) per annum, business simply cannot afford to exclude the huge market made up by persons with disabilities, their friends and families. The latest statistics from Tortoise are shocking and highlight how much work still needs to be done in achieving true equality in business.  

The facts are simple: people with disabilities bring a wealth of talent and diversity of life experience to the table. It is therefore crucial that persons with disabilities are included in strategic decision-making processes, beyond issues focused only on disability and inclusion, at all levels throughout the business supply chain, from product development and customer engagement to areas of investment, and that accessibility and inclusion are at the forefront of businesses’ minds when designing new products or technology.  

We can achieve this with a commitment accompanied by a system of reporting and accountability. There are rightly many eyes firmly fixed on addressing gender and racial inequality at board level in companies. We should encourage a comparable scrutiny on disability. 

As leaders and CEOs, we are working hard to help drive change. We call upon our fellow CEOs and business leaders to support initiatives that promote access to equal opportunities for people with disabilities, from the boardroom level throughout the organisation, and to ensure this is a priority until parity is achieved. 

Caroline Casey, founder of The Valuable 500, Paul Polman, chairman of The Valuable 500, and leaders of The Valuable 500 movement, including Oliver Baete, global CEO, Allianz; Sharon Thorne, global chair, Deloitte; Carmine Di Sibio, EY global chairman and CEO; David Schwimmer, CEO, LSEG; Dr Anish Shah, managing director and CEO, Mahindra Group; Mr Yohei Sasakawa, chairman, The Nippon Foundation; John Wren, global CEO, Omnicom; David S. Taylor, chairman, president & CEO, P&G; Marc Benioff, global CEO, Salesforce; Dana Strong, group CEO, Sky; Kenichiro Yoshida, chairman, president and CEO, Sony Group Corporation; Hans Vestberg, chairman and CEO, Verizon

Australia trade deal

Ashley Cowburn’s report on the proposed free trade agreement with Australia discusses the negative effects on British farmers of lower-cost competition, quoting Minette Batters, NFU president, but none of the recipients of the 3 million food parcels distributed each year by the UK’s 2,200 food banks were asked for their opinion on paying less for food.

John Doherty

Warwickshire

Electric car sales

Today we learn that the MPs are concerned about the inadequate sales of electric cars if we are to meet the 2030 target. Another area of concern, particularly for the elderly, is the lack of warning of the approach of electric vehicles, due to the low mechanical noise. The government should require manufacturers to install some means of alerting pedestrians and cyclists of the vehicle’s approach.

Geraldine Lofting

Bath

Tired of independence

Nicola Sturgeon has said that she has promised not to “bludgeon” Scotland into supporting independence. However, every election since 2014 has been about independence, until a week before voting day where the first minister will say it isn't until she does her acceptance speech, where she will say it is again.

Her MPs in Westminster behave as if they are in the citadel of a despised foreign capital, while ceaselessly tweeting, posting and blogging about Scottish secession and how bad the union is for Scotland, but yet not providing tangible ideas to replace it. Her MSPs are much the same except they are on home territory.

All this while repeatedly getting less than half the popular vote in Scotland.

I might not be bludgeoned, but I'm tired and the constant campaign that the SNP has been running for eight years, it feels like being pecked to death by ducks. 

David Bone

South Ayrshire

Fancy things

David Cameron’s shepherd’s hut doesn’t sound like quite so much of an extravagance now that we know how much Boris Johnson pays for wallpaper.

Susan Alexander

South Gloucestershire