Post Office apologies are too little, too late

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What sort of person would be thrilled to hear that a woman was going to jail while eight weeks pregnant? (PA)

Reading about Seema Misra, the former subpostmistress who rejected an apology from the ex-post office boss, I thought, can anyone in the country blame her?

Seemingly David Smith is full of remorse now for his valedictory email, stating that it was “brilliant news”.

In what parallel universe would it be right, and what sort of person would be thrilled to hear, that a woman was going to jail while eight weeks pregnant? It beggars all sane and compassionate belief.

Seemingly the Post Office saw hers as a “test case”. So that’s alright then? She was so diminished by the Post Office, treated as though she wasn’t a person at all. I am not at all surprised that Ms Misra is still so affected by this terrible miscarriage of justice, who wouldn’t be? As the ever-increasing tide of apologies flows from the mouths of the Post Office hierarchy, it is too little and far too late.

Judith A Daniels

Norfolk

Still waiting

The news that Brexit border controls coming into force later this month will cost UK businesses £2bn, leading to higher inflation and food prices, is hardly a surprise.

The insurer Allianz Trade has said that new controls, which were agreed upon in the UK’s deal with the EU, could add 10 per cent to import costs over the first year, with businesses charged up to £145 for each imported consignment.

While the UK government has been pledging to cut inflation, this will only serve to add to it, with dairy, meat, and fish products affected the most. It should be noted that food prices are still 30 per cent higher than three years ago, and this will only exacerbate that problem.

Coupled with this, it is becoming increasingly evident that despite Brexit, the UK will have to follow new EU standards currently being pushed through the European parliament. As a chief export market, the UK has little choice, but the difference from pre-Brexit days is that without a seat at the table, we now have no means of influencing these trade policies.

I consistently challenge supporters of Brexit, which has clearly been an unmitigated disaster, to outline what the benefits are, but am sadly still waiting.

Alex Orr

Edinburgh

The scene is set for nuclear warfare

UK defence chiefs have warned repeatedly that the British army is not capable of conducting a conventional land war in central Europe. European countries overall are spending less than promised on Nato, provoking the possible next US president to suggest that Russia is free to attack countries not paying their dues. 

Leaders have warned about escalation and the risk of miscalculation, while also reassuring themselves that all-out nuclear war is impossible. Yet Russia has an arsenal of about 2,000 small tactical battlefield nuclear weapons, each with a capacity of up to 300 kilotons. That is 20 times that of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima in the Second World War.

The USA has 100 such weapons deployed across five European countries. Tory MP and former soldier Tobias Ellwood has repeatedly warned of the possible use of tactical battlefield, nuclear weapons in Europe. So, the scene is set not for an all-out planet-destroying nuclear war, but for the localised use of tactical nuclear weapons with the capacity to destroy major urban centres across Europe and kill hundreds of millions of people.

Steven Walker

Essex

We can now see Israel in a different light

Roughly one-quarter of the world’s population, or about 2 billion people on planet Earth, practice the Muslim faith. The holy month of Ramadan ended on 10 April when devotees fast from dawn until dusk. The terrible situation in the Gaza Strip has meant that the Muslim population there has been fasting for longer than usual, simply because there is no food to eat.

This is due to the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) blocking shipments of food, water, medication, fuel, and just about every other necessity of life, forcing many in Gaza to the brink of starvation.

According to reports, there have been at least 33,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza since the IDF invaded, following the horrendous attack on Israeli civilians by Hamas terrorists on 7 October, when about 1,200 were killed and 253 taken as hostages.

At that time, the IDF was quoted as saying there were 30,000 Hamas fighters in Gaza, of whom they recently claimed to have killed 13,000, although only 113 of them are named. About three-quarters of the fatalities, or about 25,000, are Palestinian women and children, and there is no accounting for how many bodies lie under the rubble.

Close to 60 per cent of Gaza’s buildings are destroyed or severely damaged, with the majority of roads and infrastructure blown to smithereens, and 1.7 million Palestinians internally displaced. Many attempts at peace talks resulted in one brief ceasefire, during which 109 hostages were freed.

These are a few of many grim figures accumulated during this current war and paint a stark picture when all shown together. The Israeli government is determined to keep its promise to put an end to Hamas in Gaza once and for all. Many countries offered staunch support for Israel six months ago, but are now wavering as the IDF’s declaration to adhere to international rules of war has clearly been ignored. The recent killing of foreign aid workers certainly shone a different light on long-standing IDF claims of efficiency and competency.

With the end of Ramadan comes three days of celebrations known as Eid al-Fitr, with special prayers, family and community events, etc. But there will be little joy spread among the Muslim faithful in Gaza. Governments in the US and other Western countries that backed Israel to the hilt, are now trying to convince its leaders to back off, finally calling for a ceasefire and using much sterner rhetoric.

But at the same time, they are supplying Israel with bombs, tanks, planes and every other kind of weapon. They should be offering far more to ease suffering and bring an end to this horrendous situation. When it comes down to brass tacks, the leaders from all sides with a stake in what happens to the Palestinians, are looking like a bunch of incompetent hypocrites.

Bernie Smith

Parksville

Getting off the ground

Oh, the irony issue of the government being unable to land contracts with willing airlines to deport vulnerable folk to Rwanda, where their accommodation appears to have been sold off anyway...

Amanda Baker

Edinburgh