Labour has laid waste to Birmingham – and the rest of Britain is at risk

Chagos and China

SIR – Mauritius’s effort to get a better deal from Britain over the Chagos Islands (report, April 8) underscores the fact that there is a clear solution to these absurd negotiations, namely that Britain should simply not give the islands away.

With the threat posed by China to Britain and the West increasing (“Chinese soldiers caught fighting for Russia, reveals Zelensky”, report, April 9), the likelihood of this archipelago becoming another focal point of Sino-Western competition seems to have been overlooked. If we are truly to portray ourselves as a reliable and robust power in a world enduring multiple geopolitical crises, then MPs should do all they can to block the deal.

In the event that it goes ahead, the Government must take responsibility for facing the foreign policy consequences of this disastrous move.

Dr Edward Howell
Oxford

Miscarriages of justice

SIR – There are many valid criticisms to be made of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, but your Leading Article (April 6) is unfair. The CCRC has not “dragged its feet” examining fresh evidence about Lucy Letby; it started work before her application was submitted (which her legal team has only just done).

The CCRC must assess convictions in the context of strict rules of evidence. Quite properly, it does not refer convictions on the basis of a press conference. Cases such as James Hanratty’s are reminders that what the public thinks about a conviction is not always correct.

In the wake of a series of terrible miscarriages of justice, the CCRC was set up to investigate alleged wrongful convictions and to separate decision-making about individual cases from ministers. The CCRC is not a “lawyers’ quango” – its founding statute said that (for obvious reasons) at least one third of commissioners should be legally qualified, but it was intended to draw expertise from other fields.

The CCRC has been underfunded and badly run. The Justice Secretary needs to expedite appointing a new chairman, who can restore public confidence in what was a world-leading organisation.

Dr Hannah Quirk
The Dickson Poon School of Law
King’s College London

Crowning glory

SIR – In my wife’s younger days in Southgate, north London, Ye Olde Cherry Tree was her local pub, and so she was sad that it has been turned into a brasserie.

We now live in a small village close to Stevenage. In 2014, the pub next door, the Rose and Crown, was closed and sold off for development. I am happy to say, however, that, with the support of many local residents and the district and parish councils, we were able to avoid conversion of the pub to residential accommodation, and the Rose and Crown, now community owned, is open once again.

Business resumed on November 29 last year, almost exactly 10 years after it closed. Long may it last.

Brian Woodget
Aston, Hertfordshire

Meal deal

SIR – Aged seven, my granddaughter had an interview at an independent school. Asked why she’d like to attend, she replied: “Because my brother says the lunches are delicious” (Letters, April 9). She was accepted.

Sandra Horne
York

The Duke’s security

SIR – The King is on a state visit to Italy (report, April 9) while recovering from a serious medical condition. Meanwhile his son, the Duke of Sussex, has been complaining in the courts about the security arrangements for his family in Britain (report, April 9).

Perhaps the Duke should consider the duty that comes with privilege.

Dr Matthew Roberts
St David’s, Pembrokeshire

Incentives to invest?

SIR – My granddaughter was born in 2009 and received a Child Trust Fund voucher to the value of £250 from the then Labour government, which was invested as instructed.

In March a letter arrived from Columbia Threadneedle Investments, saying the investment had reduced in value. Growth has not been sufficient to offset the annual fee charged for the management of the fund, so it is now worth less than £250.

Columbia is offering the opportunity to transfer the money elsewhere and is prepared to make it up to £250, plus a goodwill payment of £50. It also makes clear that leaving the money where it is will mean it is unlikely to see any investment growth between now and when my granddaughter reaches 18.

Such tales make one wonder how Rachel Reeves hopes to convince people with cash Isas to make the switch to stocks and shares.

Derek Salway
Cardiff

Heat pump horror

SIR – I was persuaded to install heat pumps. It seemed a good idea when the quoted electricity price was 14p per kilowatt hour.

But today the cost is frightful. Each month I send my meter reading through and get a horrific bill, followed by an email asking how I feel. Answer: a lot poorer.

Charles Pugh 
London SW10

Key to a clear head

SIR – To banish a tune stuck in my head (Letters, April 9), I play it on the piano.

Andrew J Morrison
Faveraye-Mâchelles, Maine-et-Loire, France

SIR – “Lavender’s blue, dilly dilly, lavender’s green” (Letters, April 7) has been stuck in my head for 67 years. It was the first song my husband and I both loved when we met.

Gillian Baglee
Leigh, Lancashire

Sleepwear chic enough to be worn at all hours

SIR – The fashion for posh sleepwear, to be worn during the day (Features, April 8), is nothing new.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, it was popular as daytime and evening wear. I can remember the soft green, Empire-style nightie and several others that I often wore. They were very attractive and much enjoyed, especially when the weather was warm.

J Harrison
Fetcham, Surrey

SIR – In the 1960s, there was an advertisement for a nylon nightie with lots of lace, which ran: “She didn’t. She did. She wore her nightdress to the ball at the Carlton Towers Hotel.”

I too wore a patterned one from M&S to a West Indian Medical Ball in the 1970s, along with a mask. I don’t think I would get away with that now.

Alexandra Badcock
Emsworth, Hampshire

Second-home tax raid is an attack on aspiration

SIR – A good friend has a second home in Devon (Letters, April 9), a small flat above shops. The council tax is already £235 a month, now doubled. She can’t afford it, so the flat must be sold.

There was already no real demand for flats in that part of Devon; they take ages to sell, and this change has depressed prices, too. The policy is justified on the grounds that locals are priced out, yet there’s clearly no local demand to buy, and no apparent rental demand, otherwise they would be snapped up by the council or another agency. Rental value is already low.

I share the view that this is another spiteful, money-grabbing attack on aspiration.

Mark Osland
Outwood, Surrey

SIR – In their criticisms of second-home owners, Denis Kearney and Catherine Koo (Letters, April 8) might consider my situation, whereby the purchase of a second property was made primarily to be able to respond to emergency calls to support family suffering from cancer and other health conditions.

This arrangement has proved to be of huge benefit on multiple occasions. It seems to me to be a legitimate reason for having a second property – not something for which I should be financially penalised.

Hamish Hunter
Marlow, Buckinghamshire

SIR – We had a modest second home in Cornwall that we purchased in 2002. In 2007, we moved to Cornwall permanently and let our second home to a local family.

We decided to sell, but wanted to sell to someone locally, which we did. Three weeks later they flipped it and sold to a developer.

Ros Mackay
Helston, Cornwall