Letters and emails September 07

At a time when the Middle East is in flames, with all the associated risks, we should be seeking to move closer to Russia, not alienating it.
Alexis Vatistas, London SE21

DIPLOMATIC MISSION

Western newspapers are being manipulated by Kiev over the events in Ukraine. Russia’s armed forces could take the country in a week if they wanted to, and they will not be deterred by a Nato rapid reaction force of 10,000 men. Why is it unacceptable for Russia to have concerns over the stability and safety of its borders? It’s time to end this foolish medieval jousting and to encourage some diplomacy.
Bill Haymes, Coventry

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

While discussing the dissidents in eastern Ukraine, we should not forget our own ones in Northern Ireland. Thank God we were not burdened during the Troubles with summits between foreign leaders in distant parts of the world, with little grasp of the complex issues involved, discussing whether to arm the IRA or put “boots on the ground”.
Anne Downer, Shrewsbury

LIMITED OPTIONS

Putin is well aware that Europe is economically, politically and militarily weak. Barack Obama will not get involved. Europe should have known that pushing its influence into Russia’s back yard was likely to end in EU humiliation and Russia being emboldened. As a result, Crimea has gone, eastern Ukraine is likely to go and many have died.

Sanctions hurt both sides but as Russia is in effect a dictatorship, the people will have to put up with any hardship. If Putin is pushed too hard, the gas will be turned off. We need to escape from this EU foolishness — our influence is very limited.
Paul Ashfield, Harrogate

Tory fingers on the self-destruct button

WHAT is the matter with the Tories (“Dangerous game of the Trotskyites of the right”, Editorial, and “Rebel Tories hold Ukip gun to PM’s head over Europe”, News, last week)? Once again they are on a self-destructive course just when they should be celebrating an extraordinary recovery from the financial collapse that followed yet another disastrous socialist administration.

The UK is outperforming America and Germany, even though these countries had an economic boost from fracking, in the US, and cheap Russian gas, in Germany. This makes George Osborne the most successful chancellor since the war. Yet there were constant assertions from Professor David Blanchflower and Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, among others, that the country would go into a double-dip recession if Osborne continued his policies. How wrong could anyone be?
George Davies, Loughton, Essex

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

Is there something about the air in Clacton that induces political madness? According to opinion polls, the Tory defector Douglas Carswell can expect to win for Ukip with a two-to-one majority in the by-election, in spite of his claims that he does not care who the next prime minister is because he thinks David Cameron and Ed Miliband are pretty much the same. I understood that Ukip’s — and therefore Carswell’s — key objective was to get out of Europe, so how strange to compare one leader who is prepared to offer a referendum on the EU to one who isn’t.

Given that Ukip is unlikely to form a government, or even to join a coalition, after the next general election, it’s hard to understand the motive behind Carswell’s treachery. Britain’s role in Europe will be decided by a referendum, not Nigel Farage’s barroom bragging.
John Azzopardi, Sorède, France

Kissinger ignores legacy of US interventions

HENRY KISSINGER (“The world in flames”, News Review, last week) gives us an instructive analysis of the ideologies currently driving jihadist movements. What he does not mention is that America during most of the last century and this has itself failed to observe the Westphalian principles of non-interference in the affairs of independent states and has often intervened to further its own ends.

It is not fanciful to think that this has contributed to the widespread resentment among young Muslims, which, although not justifying the present fanaticism, partly explains its emergence.

If we believe that democracy represents the way forward, maybe the only way to confront jihadists effectively is to admit our past errors and to promote our own values simply through argument, example and assistance. It will take time, but, as David Cameron says, we are in for a long struggle.
Mike Lynch, Waterbeach, Cambridge

POLICY FAILURE

Kissinger airbrushes the cynical French and British carve-up of the Near East after the traumatic collapse of the Ottoman sultanate. Likewise there is no mention of the US policy of supporting repressive regimes when they serve its purpose and overthrowing them when they cease to do so.
Alasdair Frew-Bell, Manchester

DOUBLE TAKE

Reflecting on the Middle East tinderbox, Kissinger makes no mention of Israel — a good example of US foreign-policy double standards. The Camp David peace protocols agreed on by America with Israel were completely ignored by the latter, and Kissinger assumed the nation’s power could not be challenged. Thus, no real peace ensued with the Palestinians.
Paul Harty Mqabba, Malta

Rotherham care workers not all apathetic

I AGREE with Camilla Cavendish’s article “How to make our children safe” (Focus, last week), apart from one point. Not all Rotherham care workers shrugged as the girls left the residential homes. One is stated as saying he ensured the men saw that he was noting down their car registration numbers. I understand the details were passed to the police but no action was taken. I don’t think that care workers are able to physically restrain the girls.

How many of these girls would have been better off staying with parents with help from the social services? We also need police action in Rotherham to arrest as many of these men as possible to send out a clear message that we will not tolerate this in our country. What is the point of having an age of consent if the police can then pretend they know better? If officers can spend time investigating Cliff Richard, they can reopen these cases.
Lynda Darnall, Aston, South Yorkshire

CASE FOR THE PROSECUTION

As a UK citizen of Pakistani origin and a father of a daughter, I do not understand why we are allowing this awful abuse. The police should investigate and prosecute these heinous acts regardless of race, colour or religion, and the whole community of whatever background should demand action.
Amir Kazmi, London W14

UNDER THE CARPET

Yet again vulnerable children were failed, not only by Denis MacShane, the former Labour MP for Rotherham, but by other elected representatives and agencies, too. It is a cover -up of criminal acts in order that these representatives can stay in power and carry on their comfortable, conscience-free lives. I don’t know how they sleep at night.
Yvonne Swain, Birmingham

ON TARGET

Thank you for distinguishing clearly that the abusers in Rotherham were Pakistani, not simply Asian, which is a very broad term for a huge continent.
Anand Srivastava, Hounslow, London

POLITICIANS IMPEDING MEDICAL ADVANCES

WE HOPE the exciting technology mentioned in your article “Artificial micro-humans may replace animals in lab tests” (News, last week) will become mainstream within three years as predicted. Meanwhile, other human-based technologies are already available that could be improving patient safety here and now. The impediment is not science but political will.

Public pressure to curb animal testing has been resisted for fear this would cost human lives, but a landmark study has revealed that apparent safety in animal tests provides no assurance of human safety. Thus patients are exposed to greater risks than previously realised, both in clinical trials and as consumers of medicines. We urge the government to act now to harness scientific advances that could reduce the toll of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), which kill more than 10,000 in the UK every year.

Across Europe, more people die of ADRs than of breast or prostate cancer — equivalent to the passengers of one jumbo jet every day.

Kathy Archibald, Director, Safer Medicines Trust,; Dr Kelly BéruBé, Director, Lung and Particle Research Group, Cardiff University; Dr Bob Coleman, UK Science Director, Safer Medicines Trust; Professor Michael Coleman, School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University; Professor Chris Foster, Emeritus Professor of Pathology, Liverpool University; Professor Barbara Pierscionek, Associate Dean, Kingston University Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing;
Dr Katya Tsaioun, preclinical drug discovery research, Safer Medicines Trust; Professor Sir Ian Wilmut, Medical Research Council Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Edinburgh University

Points

DIFFICULT DECISIONS

We are pleased that wanted babies are given state-of-the- art care in a few hospitals (“Abortion reform call as record number of babies survive birth at 23 weeks”, News, last week). However, birth survival rates should not be the leading factor. Women make the decision to terminate their pregnancy at later stages for a variety of reasons such as domestic violence or ill health. Many face delays and barriers, including getting two doctors’ signatures — abortion being the only medical procedure that requires this. This is in a climate where one in five GPs declare they are anti-abortion and cuts to NHS services are affecting waiting times.
Kerry Abel, Abortion Rights, London E8

ANOTHER COUNTRY

Why do the imams who have placed a fatwa on Muslims joining Islamic State claim there is a moral duty for British Muslims to support the people of Iraq and Syria (“UK imams put fatwa on jihadists”, News, last week)? Surely what goes on in the Middle East is none of their business.
Dr Michael Paraskos, London SE7

Corrections and clarifications

In the article “Fully loaded” (Magazine, last week) we stated: “More police officers routinely carry weapons in the Metropolitan police service than in any other force in the UK — 2,155 out of a total of 31,000.” The figures related to England and Wales only. We apologise for the error.

Complaints about inaccuracies in all sections of The Sunday Times, including online, should be addressed to complaints@sunday-times.co.uk or Complaints, The Sunday Times, 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF. In addition, from tomorrow, the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) will examine formal complaints about the editorial content of UK newspapers and magazines. Click here for full details of how to lodge a complaint.

Birthdays

Marcel Desailly, footballer, 46; Michael Feinstein, singer and pianist, 58; Gloria Gaynor, singer, 65; Angela Gheorghiu, soprano, 49; Peter Gill, stage director and playwright, 75; Chrissie Hynde, singer, 63; Toby Jones, actor, 48; Julie Kavner, voice of Marge Simpson, 64; Sonny Rollins, jazz saxophonist, 84

Anniversaries

1533 birth of Elizabeth I; 1836 birth of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Liberal PM; 1838 Grace Darling helps her father row to the rescue of shipwreck survivors off Northumberland; 1936 birth of singer Buddy Holly; 1940 London Blitz begins; 1978 Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov is poisoned with an umbrella in London