Times letters: Conflicting calls for solution to a complex war

Sir, Everyone seems to be on board now with the idea of an immediate end to the fighting in Gaza (“Labour calls for ‘immediate humanitarian ceasefire’ in Gaza”, Feb 21). There are only two ways to accomplish that: Israel ceases its campaign to eliminate Hamas, or Hamas surrenders and returns the hostages. It is odd that almost no one is calling for the second option. I can understand that those who actually support Hamas prefer the first, but I find it difficult to grasp why those who simply want an end to the fighting fail to call for the second option, which has the advantage of freeing the long-suffering residents of Gaza from the repressive rule of Hamas.
David Ruben
Professor emeritus of philosophy, University of London; London NW4

Sir, With regard to the kerfuffle about the Prince of Wales speaking out (“Prince issues Gaza plea for a permanent peace”, Feb 21), if the role models of our country cannot express a humanitarian and urgent concern, who can? The prince takes no sides but his natural concern for the lives of innocent people, many of them children, has led him to the correct course of action.
Sylvia Pryor Nicol
Chipping Norton, Oxon

Sir, We live in relatively benign circumstances in an established democracy. We must never forget that the Nazi rise to power was supercharged by the Great Depression. If or when we really hit tough times because of a major recession or other calamity, our version of the troubles of the 1920s could morph into the calamities of the 1930s. Let me list the symptoms: regular mass demonstrations aimed at intimidating dissent and other minority groups; threatening public figures (and in particular politicians) with the aim of stifling dissenting voices and public debate; actions in places of education and other institutions aiming to bully and silence free speech; the gradual denigrating of other minority groups (maybe the first step to dehumanisation).
David Bernstein
Former FA chairman; London N3

Sir, The Board of Deputies of British Jews holds a twice-weekly vigil outside the Houses of Parliament to remind MPs and the public that Hamas still holds 100-plus hostages in Gaza. This vigil is peaceful, lawful and sanctioned by the police. The board had to cancel yesterday’s vigil because a planned demonstration organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign meant that the safety of the dozen or so attending our vigil could not be guaranteed. I consider this to be an ominous sign of the erosion of our democracy that my right to demonstrate is threatened because there is another protest taking place at the same time.
Ruth Freedman
Pinner, Middx

Nuclear test failure

Sir, The failure of HMS Vanguard’s test firing of a Trident missile needs to be put in perspective (report, Feb 21). These tests are conducted to ensure the system works, and if problems are identified they are immediately rectified — that is the whole point of conducting them. Trident is a sophisticated and hugely capable weapon system, one of the most reliable in the world, with nearly 200 successful US and UK test firings and a very small failure rate. The public should be reassured that the crew of HMS Vanguard has successfully completed the rigorous recertification training required and are now ready to return to the operational cycle to maintain our continuous at sea deterrent, which has been in operation since 1969. Putin would be making a grave mistake in thinking that Britain’s nuclear deterrent was not at all times immediately available.
Rear-Admiral (ret’d) Philip Mathias
Director of nuclear policy 2005-08; Southsea, Hants

Sir, To claim, as the Ministry of Defence has, that the failed test “has reaffirmed the effectiveness of the UK’s nuclear deterrent” is derisory. Either a test is successful or it is not. There is no room in nuclear deterrents for an “anomaly”. Trident has cost British taxpayers a vast amount of money. At the very least the system must be proven to work without any error to demonstrate that the “deterrent” really is that.
Stephen J Allen
Portola Valley, California

Banks’ obligations

Sir, High-street banks should not be allowed to abandon our towns and communities (letters, Feb 17, 19 & 20). As we witnessed in the financial crash of 2007-08, big banks only function with the benefit of an implicit taxpayer guarantee. Institutions that operate (and greatly profit) through our support should not have the privilege of being overly picky about which customers they serve. Other countries have long recognised the need to require big financial institutions to fulfil their social obligations. To do so under the US Community Reinvestment Act, American banks support an extra $100 billion of lending in underserved areas and to more disadvantaged groups each year.

British banks have resisted similar legislation, and being important contributors to the Exchequer (in non-financial crisis years) they are a powerful lobby group. As the writers of party manifestos consider how we can make our own country fairer and more prosperous, they should reflect on the significant benefits that a comparable law might bring for towns and communities nationwide.
Peter Udale
Chairman, Responsible Finance

Open wider

Sir, Matthew Parris applauds the dental treatment he received in Kyiv (“Open wide”, Feb 21). I have worked in Ukraine and can vouch for the high standards of clinical facilities. That said, all may not be as it seems. He recounts: “Referred first for an x-ray with a machine that encircles the whole head.” Such an invasive procedure without justification from an initial clinical examination would be unlawful in the UK. Why x-ray the whole head if only a dental filling is required? A mandatory examination would have demonstrated that a lower-dose x-ray could have served the purpose. Having lectured on clinical negligence in Ukraine, I have seen that litigation for such is extremely rare. If “something goes wrong” Mr Parris would have to find a dental expert registered in Ukraine to support his claim — in my experience nigh impossible. A UK dental expert would not be qualified to opine.
Allan R Thom
Ret’d consultant orthodontist and senior lecturer; Tunbridge Wells

Martha’s rule

Sir, It is encouraging to see medical practice following aviation in reducing the number of human error situations (“Martha’s Rule to grant families a second opinion”, Feb 21). Several decades ago the concept of crew resource management (CRM) was introduced to reduce the incidence of pilot error in aircraft accidents. If a co-pilot senses that the captain is making a serious error of judgment he or she can force the captain to reconsider using the specific phrase: “Captain, you must listen.” This does not challenge the captain’s overall authority but forces him or her to reconsider before making their decision. One reason airline travel is so safe these days is the application of CRM procedures.
Julien Evans
Ret’d Boeing 757/767 captain; Chesham, Bucks

Retail disconent

Sir, Joy McCann (Feb 17) writes of not being able to buy things at a John Lewis store and being told to buy on the internet. We need a new larder fridge, and having read her letter rang John Lewis’s Bluewater store before driving to check what was in stock. I was told they had no larder fridges on display and that we should buy online. Instead I went to Currys: it had only one very basic model on display. We have not bought a new larder fridge.
Max Lewis
Tunbridge Wells, Kent

Parental portents

Sir, On the topic of parental warnings grounded in history (letter, Feb 20), as a child in northeast Scotland in the 1950s my mother’s version of “It will all end in tears” was “Noddy will come to Cullodie”, a reference to a nickname for the Duke of Cumberland and his victory over the Jacobites in 1746.
John Mair
London SW4

Non-sting syrup

Sir, We dipterists note the Lyle’s golden syrup label change with regret, as we were not consulted (Feb 20). As specialist entomologists we can be pretty certain that the insects flying around the dead lion were not bees but Eristalis hoverflies, which breed in pools of corruption with larvae called rat-tailed maggots because they have long breathing tubes that enable them to inhale atmospheric air while submerged in rottenness. Adult Eristalis copy bees so well that Samson was deceived, as most people still are.

As for Lyle’s taking the sting out of the label, not only do I agree with Ruth Watson (letter, Feb 21) on the merit of the original design but note that Eristalis hoverflies do not sting. As brilliant bee mimics, they don’t need to.
Hugh Pennington
Hoverfly collector for 50 years, Aberdeen

Unsolved car thefts

Sir, Further to your report “Almost 300 car thefts a day unsolved” (Feb 19), I reported the theft of my car in Chelsea to the Metropolitan Police at 11am on February 14 and was given a crime number. At 0950 the next day I received an email telling me that they had closed the case. Little surprise that 86 per cent of car thefts in London went unsolved last year.
Orlando Harris
Pewsey, Wilts

Fourth plinth idea

Sir, In light of Laura Freeman’s article on the spare plinth (Feb 20; letter, Feb 21), I envisage a statue of Laurence Olivier bestriding his rearing horse as he did in his brilliant film of Henry V, in which he played King Henry and directed. Olivier was not only acclaimed for his acting but educated many generations of young people on the meaning and value of Shakespeare’s language. Moreover, his energy and bravura finally persuaded a reticent government to build a national theatre. We owe him so much. The other plinths are occupied by two generals and one king. Please let us now have an artist.
Steven Berkoff
London E14

Intoxicated English

Sir, I cannot say if PG Wodehouse, in his substantial canon, used all 546 synonyms for drunkenness (news, Feb 20) but he put up a good show in Meet Mr Mulliner (1927): “Intoxicated? The word did not express it by a mile. He was oiled, boiled, fried, plastered, whiffled, sozzled, and blotto.”
Christopher Bellew
London W6

Sir, Noting that Scots are said to have more than 400 words for snow, my only surprise at the discovery that the English language has 546 drunkonyms was that it seems an underestimate. My interest is in more medical or anatomical drunkonyms such as bladdered, pie-eyed or legless.
I would also suggest that being trollied nowadays implies waiting for a protracted period in A&E.
Dr David Carvel (ret’d GP)
St Andrews, Fife