Letters - Thursday, April 15, 2021

Imagine voting for Brexit to “get rid of foreigners” from a country you no longer live in.

The hypocrisy and stupidity beggars belief.

Are they now better off with voting and supporting Brexit?

Their dream in the sun is over.

They have been sold a dud deal.

These ‘expats’ have now made themselves ‘immigrants’.

Their silence speaks volumes.

In football terms they have undeniably scored an own goal by supporting Brexit .

Those with a hidden agenda for “getting Brexit done” are now laughing all the way to the bank.

Those characters send their children to private schools, have private healthcare and don’t go on holiday to resorts like Benidorm.

They used the NHS name in vain to score votes by claiming it would be £350m a week better off.

If a banking or financial services organisation told such lies to gain new customers, undoubtedly they would be brought to book in the High Courts.

Unfortunately many hard working people will continue to suffer the ramifications of Brexit for decades to come.

I feel very sorry for those UK industries and businesses now struggling to survive with additional charges and logistical challenges.

The lives of aspirational young people are very much restricted without free movement around Europe.

The recent troubles in Northern Ireland are also very worrying.

The border issue should not have been shrugged off by Boris Johnson like a game of monopoly, using his nonchalant analogy of the border being similar to crossing the road between the boroughs of Westminster and Camden.

In February this year, Jacob Rees-Mogg casually claimed in an interview that it could be another 50 years before we see the true benefits of Brexit.

Why did he not say this earlier?

In politics, there is nothing ‘Right Honourable’ about characters like him.

Stephen Pierre

via email

VIRUS

Covid passports unfair to many

For international travel, Covid vaccination passports are probably unavoidable as other countries will demand them as a condition of entry, but within the UK they should not be required. Covid vaccination isn’t mandatory (nor should it be), and many people will be unvaccinated for various reasons.

Some are medically unable to have the vaccine, some may choose to decline it, and those in the lowest priority groups will still have to wait many months before they get it.

Are all those people to be refused entry to pubs and restaurants etc? Perhaps we should give them all badges saying ‘unclean’ to make them easier to identify!

If we really want to get back to some semblance of normality, we need to accept that Covid will never be completely eliminated, and we have to learn to live with the risk, which thankfully is now much reduced.

John R Wainwright

via email

SPORT

Protect players’ heads in football

Re: long-term health risks of heading in football, many of the former professionals who are presenting with early dementia will have plied their trade in the days when footballs were made totally of absorbent leather and, when saturated, could double their weight.

British players could also have been at greater risk than many of their foreign counterparts because we have tended to play the ball in the air while they preferred

short passing along the ground.

However, the more acute damage is caused by head collisions.

Protective head-gear would surely be a huge step forward, enabling safe heading while retaining the great spectacle of the headed goal.

Such a radical development might appeal to FIFA who are not normally averse to a bit of tinkering.

Meanwhile, we should continue to restrict heading in training, especially for children.

Brian H Sheridan

via email

ROYALS

Disrespect from crowds after death

The Royal Family asked that people who wished to show their respect for Prince Philip should donate to their charity instead of leaving flowers to pile up and die.

However, it appears people have ignored this, as is shown by photographs I have seen. Also how far have these people travelled to get to Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle?

On the TV news, there were shots of tiny toddlers being pushed forward by their parent to place flowers, only for the child to drop them unceremoniously with no idea what it’s all about. What do the parents think is the point of this? Indeed what is the point of this whole display? Instead of being a mark of respect, it could be considered to be the exact opposite, because they are ignoring a request from the Queen and her family.

All this does is put more money into the pockets of the supermarkets because, until this week, all the small florists have been closed.

We read that Prince Philip had outspoken views on many things so it’s not hard to imagine what he would say about this needless display.

A Ward

via email