Letters: Callous criminals should no longer have the option to skip sentencing

SIR – It defies belief that a convicted criminal such as Lucy Letby, the serial baby killer, can elect whether or not to attend court to hear their sentence (report, telegraph.co.uk, August 21). 

There should be no choice.

Peter Hardcastle
Dunsfold, Surrey

SIR – Our justice system already provides for a person arrested, on remand or convicted to be confined in a cell, whether they like it or not. It should be legally possible to ensure that a person found guilty actually attends, in the dock, for sentencing.

If they fail to behave in the dock, there should be the means to hold them in a soundproof booth, where they can be seen but not heard, with the proceedings broadcast to them.

Robert Capper
Hawarden, Flintshire

SIR – Administrators at the Countess of Chester Hospital, where Lucy Letby worked, failed to address the mounting concerns of seven paediatricians. Indeed, these neonatologists were told to write a letter of apology to Letby. 

It is to be hoped that the culpable managers will dispatch letters of apology to those same doctors whose appeals they chose to ignore.

A Katharine Thomson MRCP
Holt, Norfolk

SIR – The weaknesses of the NHS investigating itself have been exposed.It applies to criminal and civil liability. Litigation for medical negligence provides judicially regulated, rigorous, independent, clinical scrutiny according to accepted norms.

It is not the compensation law that needs to change: it is the NHS culture of cover-up that prioritises institutional reputation over patient safety.

Dr Anthony Barton
London N1 

SIR – The Government’s reluctance to make the Letby inquiry a judge-led one is understandable. The parents concerned, and the NHS, need to know what went wrong and what must be done to minimise the risk of a repeat – in short order. The involvement of a judge would prolong the report.

Peter Munro
Wincanton, Somerset

SIR – Tim Stanley (Comment, August 21) wants a debate on the death penalty.

On July 19 1979, there was a debate on the subject in Parliament. I was the MP who had succeeded Airey Neave, recently murdered by the IRA. To the anger of many of my constituents, I was opposed –  first, because of well-publicised miscarriages of justice; and secondly, because several lawyers had told me that capital punishment made juries less likely to convict.

I also heeded the words of Lord Hailsham, who in 1974 told the House of Lords that the death penalty was “a horrible and degrading thing”. He was right then, and is right now.

Tom Benyon
Bladon, Oxfordshire
 

French migrant deal

SIR – Rishi Sunak signed a £480 million deal with France to curtail the number of small boats crossing the Channel (“France stops fewer migrants despite £480m aid”, report, August 18). It was stated that the money would go towards more officers, command and a detention centre, but not one penny is linked to improvements in numbers stopped. 

Surely such a sum must be governed by the meeting of key performance indicators.

John Farrington
Walsall, Staffordshire
 

Flying to the football

SIR – Peter Baynes (Letters, August 21) says the Prince of Wales should be praised for not flying to Australia for the women’s football World Cup final, as it set a good example at a time of global warming. I disagree. 

He would not have been going to watch Aston Villa. He is heir to the throne, and England’s women were in that final. He is also president of the Football Association. Global warming is an important issue, but statesmanship and official duties have to continue.

Plus, he could have hitched a lift on the same plane as our government representatives. His journey would not have added a jot to global warming.

Graham Fish
Hertford

SIR – John Clark (Letters, August 21) misunderstands the meaning of the song, Three Lions.

“Football’s coming home” was a reference to England hosting the European Championships in 1996, but what made the song so iconic for England supporters was not just the catchy chorus, but also the verses, which contain humbling and self-deprecating reminders of a series of abject failures that England have suffered on the pitch – quite the opposite of arrogance.

Jonathan Walsh
Fareham, Hampshire
 

Premium Bond perks

SIR – Ben Wilkinson (Business, August 12) says he is giving up on Premium Bonds, arguing that “the lure of a big win is no substitute for meaningful, guaranteed interest rate rewards”. 

My wife and I have £20,000 worth of Premium Bonds, and so far this calendar year our return on this investment has been 5.375 per cent, with our capital being completely secure. Hardly a fool’s game.

Geoff Smith
Endon, Staffordshire
 

Toad awakening 

SIR – My wife and I went to a matinee of The Wind in the Willows at the Landor Pub and Theatre in Clapham (“It’s last orders for pub theatres, and that is a tragedy for British drama”, Arts, August 21).

Rather foolishly we had two pints of beer and an excellent roast beef Sunday lunch before the show, and promptly fell asleep in the front row. I was woken by Mr Toad, who handed me his boater, which doubled as the steering wheel of his car. Rarely have I felt so ashamed.

Incidentally, my father met my mother, who was a barmaid there, in 1957, and my grandfather, who was an enthusiastic drinker, had his funeral cortège stop outside to pay his final respects. It also has a walnut tree in the garden, which my father remembers climbing in the 1930s. It seems I was the only Hopkins who disgraced himself.

John Hopkins
Beckenham, Kent
 

Why wooden windows are the way forward 

SIR – Tom Haynes reports that it is recommended to have wooden-framed windows “replaced with uPVC double-glazed windows to keep heat in and cold out (“‘I’m spending £1k a month to heat my house’”, Money, August 19). This is not necessarily good advice. 

Properly glazed timber windows are comparably efficient. In fact, wooden windows are shown to be more effective in the most recent studies. Wooden windows have the additional advantage of being much more environmentally friendly than uPVC windows as they are not made from oil, are recyclable, and last much longer. 

Most people also think they look nicer, and uPVC windows can reduce the sales value of homes – particularly older ones. 
If you want to care for your home, your bills and the planet, use wooden windows, not plastic. 

Nicholas Boys Smith
Director, Create Streets
London SE11
 

Ulez expansion will be painful for older drivers

SIR – I am 89 years old and have a condition called spinal stenosis. I can only walk very short distances, so my car is essential to me. I bought it new in 2001. It has been lovingly cared for since then, with regular servicing and MOTs, and 32,000 miles on the clock.

The Mayor of London tells me that, from next week, I’ll have to give him £12.50 every time I take it out (Letters, August 21). This means £12.50 to post a letter (five minutes in the car), to visit the doctor (10 minutes), to attend two art classes (five minutes and 15 minutes) or to get petrol from the garage (five minutes). 

My Blue Badge does not help me escape these charges because I am not in receipt of any other benefits. I cannot believe that I am causing a great deal of harm to the environment with these short but necessary journeys. At my time of life I do not want to have to buy and get used to a new car. There will be other elderly people in a similar position. This charge is making life much more difficult for so many.

Rosemary Reynolds
Hornchurch, Essex

SIR – Another bugbear for motorists is the proliferation of payment by app on toll bridges and in car parks. Those who choose not to use this method are forced to alter routes and destinations. 

How simple it would be to offer an alternative method – cash or credit card – at a higher rate (say, a £1 premium each time) to cover the admin costs. Other businesses, such as utilities, offer reductions for direct-debit payments; using toll and parking apps could be promoted in the same way. It would introduce a degree of persuasion rather than compulsion.

John Lavender
Port Erin, Isle of Man
 

Benefits of Brexit

SIR – Britain’s manufacturing sector is starting to benefit from Brexit.

This summer, Make UK revealed that manufacturing employment is growing in 75 per cent of English regions and the whole of Wales. Yorkshire and the Humber has seen the biggest jump. 

Manufacturing companies are moving more production back to this country, and British customers are now expressing a preference for British-made products.

British exports are growing as well. My company has been exporting for the last 157 years but has never done much in Europe. Post-Brexit, thanks to us onshoring production back into our own factory, we are now selling more than ever to Europe.

By carefully selecting which products to onshore, using the latest techniques and designing for manufacture, we can make products more cheaply in Britain, improve quality, offer more features and radically reduce lead times – all while lowering the carbon footprint of production. 

Manufacturers and consumers also need to think about the ethical implications of buying from countries that don’t have the same values and standards as our own.

Contrary to popular belief, this is proving to be a good time to be manufacturing in Britain.

David Millar
Managing Director, Heap & Partners
Birkenhead, Wirral
 

Cambridge’s shops

SIR – When I visited my beloved Cambridge recently, I was extremely concerned to learn that many of the decent independent shops are no longer able to afford the high rents charged by the colleges.

The new breed of bursars coming from the banking world need to be forward-thinking if these smaller shops – and the town as a whole – are to flourish. At the moment Cambridge colleges are encouraging scruffy fast-food establishments aimed at young tourists, who then discard their litter on the streets.

Town and gown should complement each other in the 21st century.

Joanna Anscombe-Bell
Giggleswick, North Yorkshire
 

You say ‘guacamole’…

SIR – Dex Dexter (“Avocado alternative”, Letters, August 21) extols “pea guacamole”.

Isn’t that just mushy peas?

Cherry Jennings 
Garstang, Lancashire
 

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