The Home Secretary Suella Braverman is under fire for how she dealt with being caught speeding but did she really do anything that wrong?
Readers continue to be vexxed by fly-tippers; it appears we’re less tidy than our continental neighbours. Moreover, does the notion of Brits being unfriendly really hold water?
Elsewhere we have first-hand tales of working as a GP receptionist — are they really more of a hindrance than a help — and do you agree with one reader who defends building on the Green Belt.
Oh, and one last thing as to why Everest is not the ‘tallest’ mountain in the world.
Let us know what you think in the comments
■ Poor Suella Braverman, who is getting it in the neck over claims she asked civil servants to organise a personal speed-awareness course after she was caught breaking the limit (Metro, Tue).
She risks being ‘Starmerised’ by asking the wrong question of a civil servant.
The right question would have been, ‘What security measures would you offer for the home secretary during this speed awareness course?’
I find it weird that a senior cabinet minister would be put with random speeders ‘off the street’ on this, no doubt, very enlightening course.
In these days of woke, aren’t we rather beating up the over-privileged rather than advancing the under-privileged?
It’s manna from heaven to the Labour Party. But their time will come when they’ll be pulled apart by social media the same as the Conservatives.
Col Blake, Ealing
■ Regarding the blight of fly-tipping (MetroTalk, Thu). In Switzerland and Germany, children are taught at schools not to litter. Householders over there have a duty to clean the public pavement outside their house. Over here, people still insist it’s the duty of fast-food shops to pick up litter outside their houses.
Hans, Birmingham
■ Jack said he ‘had lived in five different English-speaking countries, and now London, where 90 per cent of locals are unfriendly’ (MetroTalk, Mon). Being a foreign-born, former refugee, now British, I can proudly say that most Brits are very friendly with an endearing laid-back attitude. Otherwise, why don’t people want to go to Spain (or China, Russia or North Korea) and claim asylum over there?
Paq, Brighton
■ Regarding whether receptionists make it harder to get a GP appointment (MetroTalk, Fri).
I briefly worked in a GP reception during Covid and took a call from a lady who had found a breast lump.
I suggested to the reception manager that I give her an emergency appointment as all the others had gone, but she said no, the lady should phone back at 8am the next day for a normal appointment.
I was appalled and gave notice that day and left. I have since been in that lady’s position and know how frightening it can be.
Some receptionists (not all, I stress) think they are far too important.
Jacq, Essex
■ Regarding the story about amputee Hari Budha Magar scaling Everest (Metro, Mon).
Everest is not the world’s ‘tallest’ mountain – that honour goes to Mauna Kea in Hawaii. Everest is the world’s ‘highest’ mountain. The peak of the tallest mountain is the furthest from its base; the highest is the furthest above sea level.
G Bailey, Enfield
■ Denise responds to Labour’s plans to allow building on the green belt by saying she is sick of politicians selling off this protected land for power (MetroTalk, Mon).
Britain’s population is growing fast, with net migration this year likely to reach nearly one million. We are also one of Europe’s most densely populated countries.
Our cities are crowded and there are nowhere near enough new homes being built each year.
It is therefore a logical and necessary step for a small proportion of the green belt to be used for building new homes.
Town planners could easily design new villages or small towns in the style of garden cities such as Welwyn Garden City.
They would be new ‘green’ urban environments that could reduce the population density of our large, sprawling cities. What’s not to like about that? England would still be a green and pleasant land.
Al, Charlton
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