Times letters: The consequences of war for the West

The geopolitical terrain is very unstable and it is clear that, despite the delay on submarines, my government’s decision to join Aukus (and the Quad) was prescient.
John Kempler
Rose Bay, New South Wales

Sir, Telling the rest of the world that the war is good for us or the West is a kick in the teeth to the millions suffering and the thousands dead or injured. Imagine driving past a serious road accident and shouting out: “Thank you, I will now drive more carefully.”
Julian Bowerman
Rockford, Hants

Sir, Matthew Parris asks if those who protest against Boris Johnson asking for increased oil supplies from Saudi Arabia are aware that there is a war on in Ukraine. Is he aware that there is a war on in Yemen?
Brendan O’Brien
London N21

Sir, As we enter a cold war I hope ordinary businesses and others in the free world thinking of supplying Putin’s representatives will think hard and supply the cold shoulder. In some way these acolytes can experience a very small part of the shameful and criminal way in which innocent civilians have been treated.
Lord Kinnoull
Chairman, European affairs select committee; House of Lords

Sir, What a pity the US constitution does not allow Americans who were not born US citizens to run for president. I watched Arnold Schwarzenegger’s address to his Russian friends and, like you, was impressed (news and leading article, Mar 19). This was certainly more caring and intelligent than I have heard from US presidents in more than 20 years. If only he were eligible for the top job.
Elizabeth Balsom
London SW15

Sir, Olena Zelenska, the Ukrainian president’s wife, is a scriptwriter. It is possible that she is, at least in part, the author of his “winning way with words” (Mar 19).
Sue Pearson
Totnes, Devon

RETHINK BORDERS BILL
Sir, The war in Ukraine demonstrates that people fleeing conflict cannot wait weeks for new visa schemes to be set up. When shells start falling on their homes people head wherever they think they can find safety, as quickly as they can. Yet under the provisions of the Nationality and Borders Bill, which returns to the Commons on Tuesday, anyone travelling independently to seek refuge in this country will be penalised, given second-class status and denied access to a safety net.

As a group of 46 organisations working with asylum seekers, refugees and migrants, we are concerned that this risks pushing thousands more people fleeing conflict and persecution into destitution and homelessness every year. Not only is this approach unreflective of public opinion, it is counter to the government’s commitment to end rough sleeping and level up. We urge MPs to rethink this bill, abandon the harmful and counterproductive idea of treating refugees differently based on how they arrive, and ensure that no one who finds refuge from conflict in the UK is put at risk of homelessness.
Sally Daghlian, chief executive, Praxis; Matt Downie, chief executive, Crisis; Polly Neate, chief executive, Shelter; Bridget Young, director, NACCOM; Rick Henderson, chief executive, Homeless Link; Abi Brunswick, director, Project 17; Denise McDowell, chief executive, Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit; Barbara Drozdowicz, chief executive, East European Resource Centre; Sonya Sceats, chief executive, Freedom from Torture; Steve Douglas, chief executive, St Mungo’s; Satbir Singh, chief executive, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants; Sian Summer-Rees, chief executive, City of Sanctuary; Paul Hook, director, Asylum Matters; Jenni Regan, chief executive, iMix; Nicole Francis, chief executive, Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association; Beth Gardiner-Smith, chief executive, Safe Passage; Jude Lancet, welfare adviser, Haringey Migrant Support Centre; Sonja Miley, Maddy Crowther, co-executive directors, Waging Peace; Jared Hodgson, chief executive, Hope at Home; Rebecca Kogan, project co-ordinator, Host Nottingham; Ros Holland, chief executive, Boaz Trust; Stuart Hearne, director, Islington Law Centre; Annie Viswanathan, director, Bail for Immigration Detainees; Dave Stamp, senior caseworker, Asylum Support and Immigration Resource Team; Sophie Beech, homeless migrant project manager, South London Refugee Association; Nicola Wood, charity manager, Swindon City of Sanctuary; Eleanor Brown, managing director, Community Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers; Beth Wilson, chief executive, Bristol Refugee Rights; Liz Hibberd, strategic and partnership lead, Manchester City of Sanctuary; Annika Joy, chief executive, Safe in Scotland; Dr Edie Friedman, executive director, Jewish Council for Racial Equality; Steve Newman, chairman, Friends of the Drop-in for Asylum Seekers, Sunderland; Sarah Teather, director, Jesuit Refugee Service UK; Fizza Qureshi, chief executive, Migrant Rights Network; Jonjo Warrick, Reading City of Sanctuary and Reading Refugee Support Group; Elli Free, Room to Heal; Kat Lorenz, director, Asylum Support Appeals Project; Karen Pearse, director, PAFRAS; Kerry Smith, chief executive, The Helen Bamber Foundation; Loa Pour Mirza, Ubuntu Women’s Shelter; Nicholas Hatton, chief executive, the3million; William Gomes, chief executive, The William Gomes Podcast; Ged Allen, volunteer director, Refugees & Mentors CIC; Amber Bauer, chief executive, forRefugees; Jo Cobley, chief executive, Young Roots

HONOUR FOR SIDDIQ
Sir, While heartily endorsing Roger Baker’s call for honours to be bestowed on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her husband (letter, Mar 18), I would add her MP, Tulip Siddiq, for similar consideration. Siddiq has been ceaseless in her efforts to aid the work of others in pressing the government on the issue and ensuring that it never fades from the spotlight.
M Saiful Haque
London NW8

CAMERON’S ROAD TRIP
Sir, Given recent revelations about the DVLA work ethic (Mar 18 & 19), it seems unlikely that the matter of David Cameron having the relevant driving licence will attract much notice (“Cameron takes the wheel for 1,000-mile charity trip”, Mar 19).
Jane Whiter
Old Basing, Hants

PUTIN’S RALLY
Sir, The Christian faith is sometimes denounced in the belief that it has been the cause of war. In his grotesque and blasphemous misuse of Jesus’s words that “Greater love has no one than ... to lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13), attempting to justify his war, Putin could perhaps further promote such a claim (“We are halting genocide, says Putin”, news, Mar 19). It is my confident hope that the universal condemnation of his actions by the church and the world will reveal the obscene use of these words as the desperate attempt of evil to justify itself, by inadvertently revealing the truth it seeks to destroy.
The Rev Tim Storey
St Peter’s Church, Yateley, Hants

Sir, Foreign visitors to Russia at the end of the 16th century reported that Tsar Boris Godunov, having gained the throne by devious means, sought popularity by staging a rally in Red Square. Participants were assembled by force and left in no doubt as to how they were to shout and cheer on behalf of the tsar. In particular they were instructed to shed tears of supplication, and if they could not summon up real tears they had to spit into their hands and smear the saliva on their cheeks for all to see. Surely times have moved on — but perhaps not.
Henry Thompson
Redmire, N Yorks

MPs AND OTHER JOBS
Sir, On November 10 the prime minister said that MPs must put their jobs as MPs first and devote themselves primarily, and above all, to their constituents.

I would go further. The roles and responsibilities of an MP (scrutinising legislation, tabling parliamentary questions, arguing for more funding for their local authority, taking up cases for constituents etc) are so time-consuming that they should devote themselves almost exclusively to being an MP. This would provide the flexibility MPs need to write the odd article or maintain professional qualifications, but it would close down the option of earning huge sums and working long hours representing business interests which may not always be compatible with those of their constituents or indeed the country’s (“MPs set to escape curbs on second jobs”, Mar 18).
Tom Brake
Director, Unlock Democracy; Liberal Democrat MP, 1997-2019

SECOND BOOSTER JAB
Sir, After easing restrictions the prime minister gave the most vulnerable a false sense of security by promising that they would continue to be protected against Covid-19, without warning them that their first boosters had been losing substantial protection since early January.

Sadly, after the report that the new Omicron variant has caused a surge in hospital admissions (news, Mar 19), the welcome announcement of a second booster has come far too late for the vulnerable over-75s most affected. The government must set a firm date for second boosters and ensure that henceforth the old and vulnerable are properly updated on their level of vaccine protection and boosted in time.
Trevor Lyttleton
Founder, Contact the Elderly; London NW11

HOUSING UKRAINIANS
Sir, May I suggest that the National Trust open its doors to those seeking refuge from Putin’s war. These houses, large, unoccupied, often with adjacent catering facilities, could play their part. I am sure that would be the wish of many of their original owners. By doing so, the trust would be showing the nation that while it preserves the past it is alive to the present and would rightly be commended for doing so.
David Lederman QC
Trent, Dorset

Sir, It is my great fortune that I live in the South Downs National Park. I am certain that there are many of us who live in remote, rural settings who would be eager to assist in easing the plight of Ukrainian refugees. Lacking the necessary infrastructure to support fully those requiring a home, perhaps we could offer weekend breaks allowing refugees and their hosts occasional respite.
Jane Ormerod
Shoreham-by-Sea, W Sussex

WIMBLEDON BAN
Sir, Further to your report “Russia’s Daniil Medvedev faces Wimbledon ban unless he disavows Putin” (Mar 15), in my view all Russian tennis players should be banned from competing in Britain this year. The issue is not about punishing individual players or about the plea that sports should not be mixed up with politics (they are inextricably linked) but about further isolating the murderous leadership of Russia. To allow Russians to have the opportunity to lift trophies will only serve the “all is well” wall of disinformation that the Russian people are fed daily. A flat ban will send the strongest message and is an opportunity to show leadership. Opting for a Russian Olympic Committee-style “no flags” route or trying to police players’ views will merely fudge the issue.
Graham Sievers
Chairman, Conway Lawn Tennis Club; London N14

PEOPLE POWER
Sir, Maroussia Richardson declares that walking or running could be used to power appliances, as was the case during the Second World War (letters, Mar 17 & 19). The BillyBird amusement park in the Netherlands is home to a rollercoaster that does just that. It gains the energy required to hoist its train to the top of its lift hill by harnessing the power of people walking to the attraction to ride it.
Andrew Rathe
Woodsetts, Notts

Sir, Anyone convicted of a minor crime could, instead of being sentenced to hours of litter picking, be given community service requiring the generation of so many kilowatt-hours of electricity. The time served would depend on the effort put into pedalling.
Eric Johns
Swanage, Dorset

THIS ISN’T YOUR LIFE
Sir, Caitlin Moran jokes that the forthcoming Billy Joel biopic, which has been denied permission to feature the singer’s likeness or his work, will be titled Billy No-el (Times2, Mar 18). Surely it would be Not My Life.
Francis Harvey
Bristol