Letters: The Post Office’s pursuit of the innocent has destroyed public trust
SIR – The Post Office scandal (Letters, January 13) has not just opened people’s eyes to what happened to others; it has also shown us what could happen to any innocent person in an age where an organisation’s reputation is protected at all costs.
I will never again believe that the word “robust” – used to describe the Horizon computer system – means anything other than “seriously and dangerously faulty”.
Likewise, it has become clear that the phrase “You are the only one” – the response to sub-postmasters who raised concerns – actually means: “We have been inundated with complaints but aren’t going to do anything to help.”
Companies need to take note that the general public is now aware of their wiles.
Rosemary J Wells
Weymouth, Dorset
SIR – The Post Office has claimed that the Horizon software was “robust”, but on what grounds? The only way that software could have been fully tested would have been by running the old manual book-keeping system and the new computerised system together in some if not all post offices, and checking that they agreed.
To install a new accounting system in post offices without taking care to check that it was working properly amounts to incompetence on the part of the people in charge of the changeover.
Richard Holroyd
Cambridge
SIR – With the closure of many bank branches, and many people (not just the elderly) reluctant to bank online, local post offices could provide a valuable service.
However, after the appalling way in which the Post Office has treated sub-postmasters, it is now far less likely that customers will put their faith in this organisation. An opportunity has been lost unless trust can be restored.
Don Hamilton
York
SIR – Is there a school that politicians attend to learn about the art of evasion?
It was embarrassing to watch Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, avoid saying sorry to sub-postmasters for his abject failure to ask questions of the Post Office when he was the minister responsible.
Charles Penfold
Ulverston, Cumbria
SIR – I take issue with William Sitwell’s description of Toby Jones, star of Mr Bates vs The Post Office, as “a hitherto completely unheard of British character actor” (Features, January 13). Mr Jones is an award-winning actor, and was one of our best long before his role as Mr Bates.
Clare Hastings
London SW5
Strikes on the Houthis
SIR – On the one hand, we have Grant Shapps, the Defence Secretary, rattling his sabre at the Houthis and Iran (Interview, January 13). On the other, we are told that we can’t send an aircraft carrier to the region because of a recruitment crisis in the Armed Forces.
What exactly is Britain’s strategy?
R P Gullett
Bledlow Ridge, Buckinghamshire
SIR – Here we go again. People who probably have little understanding of the politics or modus operandi of Islamic terrorists have demonstrated on behalf of a group that openly supports imprisonment without trial, public executions and the often violent repression of women and gay people (“Pro-Palestine marchers back Houthi rebels”, report, January 14).
Perhaps these demonstrators should spend some time with the Houthis’ backers in Iran, and speak with a few citizens there.
Philip Woolcock
Preston, Lancashire
SIR – Those insisting that Parliament should have been recalled and consulted before the action against the Houthis are mistaken.
Parliamentary approval is not needed before a declaration – or, indeed, an act – of war.
Andrew Dyke
London N21
Fuel for wood-burners
SIR – Congratulations to Sophia Money-Coutts (Saturday, January 13) for lighting her wood-burner daily.
I wonder how many people in Britain are aware that the French government is providing grants not only for installing wood-burners, but also for purchasing them.
Let’s have some common sense here, please. In Wimbledon, for instance, tree surgeons should be allowed to leave their waste wood on the common for the rangers to cut up and sell to us. Everyone would benefit.
Pauline Craggs
London SW19
M&S frustrations
SIR – I agree with Lisa Howarth (Letters, January 13) that M&S has abandoned older shoppers. Aged 79 and 5ft 1in, I also find that its dresses, skirts and especially trousers are far too long. On voicing my concerns at the checkout, I was simply told that there is little demand for short lengths.
I hastened to remind the assistant that people of my vintage tend to shrink, and it is an ongoing frustration that we find it so difficult to obtain clothes that fit.
Joanna Owens
Bovingdon, Hertfordshire
Keyboard virtuoso
SIR – My mother taught me to touch type years ago (Letters, January 13). I progressed from portable to manual to electric typewriter, reaching a typing speed of about 60 words a minute. When we changed to word processors I had to slow down as the computer couldn’t keep up. Such is progress.
Hilary Gilson
Southbourne, West Sussex
SIR – Typing is not the only skill taught to music. When learning resuscitation as a medical student, I was told that the correct tempo for chest compressions could be set by singing along to Nellie the Elephant.
When putting it into practice as a junior doctor in A&E, I did my best to avoid humming out loud.
Will Rudge FRCS
Seer Green, Buckinghamshire
Tory Rwanda rebels
SIR – The “Spartans” of the Tory Right, who are threatening to vote against the Rwanda Bill (report, January 14), need to consider the big picture and behave maturely.
They may be correct about the weaknesses of the Bill; the Prime Minister is aware of them, too. But small-boat crossings are not the sole – or even the most important – issue at the moment. A responsible government must review a given matter, the steps necessary to address it and the wider consequences of implementing them, and balance these against other matters. That is what Rishi Sunak and his Cabinet are doing, and they deserve the support of all their colleagues.
William Fleming
Frimley, Surrey
SIR – Frederick Forsyth (Letters, January 13) says our society is rotting from the head down – a claim with which few, surely, would disagree.
He suggests as a remedy the institution of a campaign dedicated to the pursuit of excellence, deriving from Downing Street, but suspects that such an initiative is unlikely.
For some time there has been evidence that the calibre of our MPs is mediocre. Many are too young, and misguided on matters such as net zero.
The governance of a country like Britain in the 21st century requires the very best – people who have established themselves in their communities and demonstrated leadership in their profession or trade. Getting such people into Parliament will require a change in the selection process, which too often favours those who simply say the right things.
If we want to stand tall in the world we cannot continue with a Parliament in which it is so hard to identify anyone whose ambitions for high office are not beyond their abilities. In addition, if we want the best, they will need to be paid appropriately.
David Taylor
Lymington, Hampshire
Canine connoisseur
SIR – Some years ago my wife and I were dining in Paris. Nearby, a well-dressed lady held a small lapdog, with its paws on the table, and fed it from her fingers (Letters, January 13). A white-gloved waiter approached and stroked the dog for a while, chatting amiably to the lady.
Next to us a young Canadian couple were surreptitiously filming. They whispered: “No one at home would believe us without evidence.”
John Ralph
Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire
Clear green lines between garden tribes
SIR – There are differences between gardeners and horticulturalists (Comment, January 10). Depending on how “keen” they are, gardeners may range from potterers to serious grafters. But being a horticulturalist involves knowledge of many branches of science, such as botany, zoology, physics and geology.
Of course, none of that matters if you are “born with green fingers”.
Donovan Caldwell Leaman
BSc Horticulture
Leyburn, North Yorkshire
SIR – Christopher Howse, discussing gardeners and horticulturalists, ends his piece with an allusion to T E Brown’s line: “A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!”
I was reminded of the joke about the vicar who complimented a gardener’s work by observing: “How wonderful what man and God can do in partnership.” The gardener replied: “You should have seen it when God had it to himself.”
Canon Alan Hughes
Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland
What’s behind these ruinous insurance rises?
SIR – Recent letters (January 13) have reported obscene rises in insurance premiums at renewal.
I think this is partly driven by insurance companies’ tendency to have “automatic renewal” in place for their policies. This eliminates the risk of us forgetting to renew and ending up uninsured – but gives companies the opportunity to increase premiums excessively in the knowledge that, through apathy or lack of time, most people will not challenge them.
If they do, however, there will be penalties for cancelling – so either way the insurance companies win.
Terry Lloyd
Derby
SIR – My car insurance increased from £557 to £1,008 – a rise of some 87 per cent.
However, I inquired elsewhere and was offered the same policy for £641. I await my house insurance with trepidation.
Malcolm Freeth
Bournemouth, Dorset
SIR – In January 2023 I accepted a travel insurance quote for 10 nights abroad (in Spain) for £440. In November 2023, for a stay of 10 nights, I was quoted £1,730 for the same cover with the same insurer, even though my health hadn’t changed.
When I asked why, I was told: “Oh, it’s just the way things are going.”
Morgan-Jones
Tonyrefail, Glamorgan
SIR – I drive a four-year-old Morgan. My insurance went up by £5 this year.
There’s a lot to be said for having a car that nobody would be stupid enough to steal.
Tony Parrack
London SW20
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