Sunday Times letters: RAF's inability to protect its own bases

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Aviators will know all about an 'air miss' and know, too, that something is amiss with today's RAF ('Palestine Action attacks cause '£55m damage'', Jun 22). Vandalised transport aircraft at RAF Brize Norton will cost taxpayers millions — money the RAF would have preferred to spend on its 11 display teams. Brize Norton is also home to 5,800 personnel, although one might wonder what so many do when the station is so unprotected — where were they in the small hours that night? Defence ministers must review security and RAF priorities: less showing off, more patrolling perimeters and guarding defence assets.
Most RAF frontline operations are conducted in support of land forces. Perhaps it is time to hand control of the service to the army, ending the 107-year 'experiment' of an independent air force. The move would save billions of pounds and provide better operational efficiency with no loss of air capability.Lester MayLieutenant commander, Royal Navy (ret'd)London NW1
While studying the Second World War at school we were taught that during the Malayan campaign British defenders would flee in terror from Japanese troops on bicycles because they thought that the sound of rattling wheels was the rumble of approaching tanks. At the time I rolled my eyes at this explanation, dismissing it as a myth or at best a massive oversimplification to cut the topic enough to fit into a school textbook.
Last week, however, as I watched footage of activists on dinky scooters making a mockery of the RAF, I wondered whether that old textbook was more accurate than I gave it credit for and the British armed forces were never as tough as I had wanted to believe. It appears the only reason the RAF's entire fleet has not been reduced to ashes on the tarmac is that Russian agents and jihadists never believed what Palestine Action pulled off could be so easy.Robert FrazerSalford
Palestine Action is only one of many such groups that are pushing the present limit of protest. Allowing incessant marches in London that have questionable motives while police stand by as war memorials are defaced is symptomatic of the same 'blind eye' that allowed grooming gangs to operate. The public are fully aware of this two-tier attitude towards criminality. Our society is facing a deep threat that politicians need to wake up to — and quickly.Dr Gerald EdwardsGlasgow
I am appalled that the prime minister described the attack on RAF Brize Norton as an 'act of vandalism'. Surely it was an act of sabotage and, when the culprits are caught, the courts will impose a real deterrent to stop further acts of this kind.Norman SpoonerWantage, Oxon
Rod Liddle asks a pertinent question regarding the two members of Palestine Action who broke into RAF Brize Norton (comment, Jun 22). Most of the UK's military bases are guarded by sentries who carry rifles. Why weren't they used?Dr John ChamberlinAshbourne, Derbyshire
Rather than merely proscribing Palestine Action as a group, we should charge its activists with sedition and hold them jointly and severally liable for the estimated £55 million of damage they have allegedly caused.David MillerChigwell, Essex
Luke Malley's exam diary shows the hard work by, and pressures placed on, pupils ('Diary of a GCSE pupil with 27 exams: 'I woke up screaming'', thetimes.com, Jun 22). It illustrates a GCSE system that is asking too much of pupils and teachers. That needs to change. Exams remain the fairest way to assess a pupil: everyone is asked exactly the same things at the same time and their answers are marked anonymously. But, as a recent report by the OCR exam board demonstrated, GCSEs are imbalanced, with too many exams compressed into a short period of time.
Our experts found that the volume of exams could be reduced without affecting the rigour of the system. Luke and his peers should be exceptionally proud of their achievements this exam season. While they enjoy a well-earned summer break, the government-commissioned curriculum and assessment review team is preparing its final report. When it is published this year, it must suggest a clear plan to rebalance assessment at 16.Jill DuffyChief executive of the OCR exam boardCambridge University Press & Assessment
Asif Ghafoor (letter, Jun 22) propagates the notion that electric cars need to be charged up. They don't; their batteries do. Surely the answer is to manufacture EV batteries in standard sizes, make their replacement simple and create centres that maintain a stock of fully charged batteries that could be exchanged for a fee. These centres could be in busy places and include shops and restaurants. An entrepreneur in Nairobi has already set up such a system for electric motorcycles.Peter ChadwickWadebridge, Cornwall
Regarding Asif Ghafoor and the expansion of electric vehicle charging points, I own a plug-in hybrid estate that delivers 12p/mile in long-distance hybrid use and 6-7p/mile on pure electric local mileage, based mainly on night-rate charging at home. Mass uptake of EVs requires public charging, for those renting and those without driveways, at competitive prices. I agree with Ghafoor on the need to accelerate grid connection. Bringing charging prices down to an affordable level would help.Nick HortinHouston, Renfrewshire
The debate over the assisted dying bill has raised points from those for and against that seem designed purely to conflate and confuse, including the affordability of such a 'service' under the NHS ('Streeting: NHS has no cash for assisted dying', Jun 22). The cost quoted by the health secretary, £425 million over a decade, equates to £42.5 million a year, roughly twice the NHS annual spend on medication to treat acne. Thus it is affordable. As for the cost of drugs that might be used in assisted dying, synthetic opioids have a proven efficacy and are cheap, easy to administer and humane. The morality of the bill may be emotive but the practicalities — the alleviation of extreme pain and suffering for a clearly defined cohort of patients in desperate need — should not be.James Sherifi GP (ret'd)Author, General Practice Under the NHS Stratford St Mary, Essex
I commend Stephen Bleach ('There must be better steps to growth than 300 million pairs of shoes', Jun 22). Like him, I am one of those who unwittingly help economic growth by having an excess of items in my home. Here lies the problem: I am an 80-year-old woman who keeps having birthdays. Kind friends (who are diminishing by the day) and relatives insist on giving me something to mark the day. There is no point telling them to donate the money to charity as they want to give me something I can unwrap in front of them and exclaim how wonderful it is. I could open a shop selling scented candles, hand cream, perfume, bed socks and vases, none of which I need. Now, however, I can die happy knowing I helped the economy, if not the poor.Jacqueline PilotLondon SW20
In light of your report on the state of our justice system ('Court short', magazine, Jun 22), in Wakefield we have a decommissioned crown court, while our magistrates' court also lies empty and forlorn, its work having been transferred to Leeds. Both could be brought back into service were we to employ those carrying out community service to polish the brass and give them a lick of paint. We would then need people to staff them. Why not a Dad's Army-style court service? It is more than ten years since I retired from the Crown Prosecution Service. I have forgotten all the law I ever knew, am deaf and crotchety and have a tendency to doze off after lunch. I would be an ideal candidate to be one of the judges.Chris JacksonHorbury, W Yorks
My grandsons have called me Fadge since they were able to speak (letters, Jun 22). We were puzzled by this and it turns out that it is derived from my son referring to me as a 'fat git'. The name has stuck and even my wife sometimes uses it — as she says, it's better than 'fat git'.Sidney (Fadge) FrenchCanterbury
Your royal editor, Roya Nikkhah, reports a soldier as saying that Prince William and the King are 'revered' by the armed forces ('William's changing of the guard', news, Jun 22). It is a good while since I left the Royal Navy but the armed forces are drawn from all sectors of society, excluding, as much as can be, the extremes of the very far left and very far right. Members show respect for their role, yes. Revere? No. With a hereditary system, things can change quickly. If anything had happened to Charles before William was born, we would have Andrew as king.Fred JeffriesCheddleton, Staffs
Nothing in the Prince of Wales's plans for the monarchy worry me half as much as his intention to 'look under the hood' rather than 'look under the bonnet'. Is he planning a deal with President Trump?Brian EasttyWestcliff-on-Sea, Essex
In your excellent article on the great British seaside holiday ('That's the way to do it', thetimes.com, Jun 23) it was asserted that the second-longest pleasure pier in the UK is at Ryde on the Isle of Wight. As any Lancastrian will tell you, that honour falls to the magnificent Southport Pier. Clocking in at 3,635ft in length, it makes Ryde, at just 2,235ft, a prince among piers rather than a king.Chris CadmanSouthport, Merseyside
In light of the tariffs being imposed by Donald Trump and the worrying effect this is having on British exports and productivity, I propose that we impose tariffs on the United States for its continued use of the English language, backdated to, say, 1776. Americans have never paid to use our language and continue to abuse it with abandon. Hell, they can't even spell some of it correctly.Michael KinsellaSutton Coldfield, W Midlands
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