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Is Rayner ‘out of touch’?

Labour’s former deputy leader Angela Rayner is warning that the government’s proposed immigration reforms are ‘un-British’ (Metro, Thu).

Considering that an ever-increasing majority of British people consistently want all immigration to Britain controlled and reduced, and all illegal Channel crossings permanently stopped, Rayner’s intervention reveals she is yet another tin-eared and completely out-of-touch politician. Stefan Badham, Portsmouth

Is Trump ‘modeling himself’ on Putin?

Raj (MetroTalk, Thu) praises Donald Trump and the US for its war on Iran by being ‘bold enough to stand up against evil regimes’.

It is quite clear that the US president admires his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and, since taking office for a second time, has decided to model himself on him.

Trump has surrounded himself with sycophants who agree with everything he says, his supporters are gradually taking over the Press so that soon he will have total control over what the US public
sees and hears, and he acts like a schoolyard bully, threatening anyone who disagrees with him.

Trump is doing everything within his power to stop free speech in the US and
I suspect he will now do everything within his power to hold on to the presidency. Sound familiar?

It is very unfortunate for us all that Trump ‘is taking a global view’ as Raj describes it – as now the whole world is subject to his megalomania.

Unlike Putin, Trump is not smart. His acts are impulsive and not thought out – as demonstrated in Iran at the moment. He
is not in control but does not have the intelligence to recognise this. Israel’s leader Benjamin Netanyahu and, behind the scenes, Putin, are now deciding how this war will progress. What has happened in Gaza is now being repeated again in Iran and Lebanon.

All Trump has achieved is helping Netanyahu achieve his ‘40-year dream’ of annihilating his enemies, while the closing of the Strait of Hormuz has enabled Putin to continue to fund the war in Ukraine. Putin must be overjoyed by Trump’s stupidity.

A common trait of a bully is to target those who are perceived to be a threat and Trump has certainly been targeting Sir Keir Starmer of late.

While I have no time for Starmer and his government, I am glad that he has had the courage (finally) to stand up to Trump.

Let us hope that he continues to do so and we are not drawn further into this dreadful conflict. JD, London

Trump’s followers need to ‘realise they are following a sick man’

Think Donald Trump cannot sink any lower? Wrong! During a press conference with Speaker Mike Johnson he announced, with a smile, that a congressman would be dying in a few months.

This was private information about a very ill man, Neal Dunn, something
the US president had been told in the strictest confidence.

You could hear the shock and disgust go around the room. When will his followers realise they are following a sick man? Mick, West Midlands

Should bank notes actually have comedians on them?

Well done to Myra (MetroTalk, Thu) for connecting the introduction of animals on bank notes in place of historical figures with a comment on climate change.

Even I would have struggled with that one. But, wouldn’t it be great to have comedy characters on the notes?

Imagine looking at the likes of Inspector Clouseau, Mr Bean and Basil Fawlty as you parted ways with your cash? A great big smile on your face as you become less well off. A feat in itself, is it not? Dec, Essex

‘Postmasters are still scandalously awaiting compensation’, says reader

Chancellor Rachel Reeves plans to spend £2.5billion on developing the UK’s computing industries (Metro, Thu).

I’m sure on paper it could be the super-boost our economy needs but how many postmasters are still scandalously awaiting compensation from a previous ‘wonderful’ computer development that saw them wrongly accused and in some cases convicted of fraud?

What is still owed to them should be paid in full before Reeves commits new money to her venture. Terry Cole, Putney

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‘Iran has never been a threat to the US’, says reader

Trump supposedly ‘obliterated’ Iran’s nuclear programme last year.

Let’s be honest, Iran has never been a threat to the US – it is a threat to Israel’s dominance in the region, so we all know why the war was started.

Trump has gone into a war with depleted armaments because he had supplied Ukraine with a lot of what he had. Now he has two wars to supply weapons for and a depleted munitions stockpile – not much of a plan, was it?

And now he wants his allies to help after he’s been distancing himself from them since he became president.

I think it’s time he stood down and let vice-president JD Vance take over – perhaps he could get the US out of this mess and start building bridges with the allies Trump has taken for granted. Roger, Wolverhampton

‘When people feel trapped, their final recourse can become extreme violence’

If you try to catch a rat running through a narrow alley, the rodent will run as fast as it can. But if it reaches a cul-de-sac, it will turn around and attack you with a ferocity you might never have imagined.

Human beings are not so different. When people feel trapped, their final recourse can become extreme violence because, at that point, they believe they have nothing left to lose.

Fanatical hatred does not appear overnight. It grows slowly, fed by desperation and suffering until it reaches levels that seem like madness. War is one of the most powerful forces for driving hatred to unimaginable degrees.

The children of Gaza, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and now Iran, who have seen their parents and siblings blown to pieces or left mutilated, will never forget those they believe responsible.

In a few years, the US will almost certainly refer to many of them as terrorists. Carmen Okri, London

Reader says Polanski ‘refused to support a motion in the London Assembly welcoming the removal of the Ayatollah’

Anna (MetroTalk, Fri) thinks I confuse ‘anti-war sentiment with support for the Ayatollahs’ and that I am singling out the Greens for doing so. It’s just that their leader refused to support a motion in the London Assembly welcoming the removal of Ayatollah Khamenei. Hmm…

Anna asks for proof that Iran has created a nuclear weapon. The answer is that it hasn’t or it would have certainly been used to attack Israel because the mullahs truly believe in martyrdom as legitimate state policy.

Mind you, without boots on the ground, the present air assault could prove to be unsuccessful in removing the regime. Chris Shepherd, London

Will Israel and the US destroy every country who ‘don’t have nukes’

I think the lesson countries will take from everything going on now is that if you don’t get nukes, Israel and the US will eventually destroy your country.
Stuart Barstow, Manchester

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Farage to thank for right to vote?

Every voter has Mr Farage and Reform to thank for restoring their right to a vote. And every British voter should punish Sir Keir Starmer and his abysmal government by voting for any party except Labour in every local election until the next General Election.

Robbing any country’s citizens of their right to a vote is both dictatorial and fascist.
Stefan Badham, Portsmouth

I am glad the elections are going ahead. The government should now bring a halt to the constant tinkering with local government, there having been changes every decade since 1965.

If the government wants to save money spent on government itself, it should start with parliament. The House of Lords is the largest parliamentary chamber in Europe.

Abolishing it would save the cost of paying its members while also removing their unaccountability.
Charles EL Gilman, Mitcham

Will Starmer really stop the bots?

If Starmer couldn’t stop the boats, why should we believe him when he says he’ll combat the perils of social media and stop the bots (Metro, Tue)? Fred, Hampshire

Forget dating apps, it’s a single gloves site

I counted nine single gloves of various sizes and colours on my way to work. I’ve wondered about creating a ‘Gloves Reunited’ site – it would be gloverly to see them all matched up…AH, Leeds

Should nuts be ‘smothered in plastic’ at the supermarket?

I popped into a well-known supermarket last Thursday to pick up a cake for my mother and was greeted by shelves of nuts smothered in plastic.

This is exactly why supermarkets can’t be taken seriously on sustainability. Almost every week
I return single-use plastic to their head office – and to brands directly – asking, repeatedly, for a switch to biodegradable alternatives. They acknowledge it, send a copy-and-paste reply about ‘recycling targets’ and then launch even more products wrapped in the same planet-killing plastic. Meanwhile, they pat themselves on the back for scrapping plastic bags, as if that excuses everything.

If supermarkets want to talk about sustainability, they should start by tackling the most obvious problem staring customers in the face – unnecessary plastic on everyday items. Michelle Edwards, via email

Reader is anti-vaping

I am so anti-vaping. I was chatting to someone vaping in the street. As she exhaled, the wind blew a cloud of vape into my face and mouth.

For the rest of the day I had a horrible metallic taste on my tongue and my lips were slightly numb.

Whatever chemicals are in vapes it can’t be good for the lungs. In years to come the negative effects will show. 
Gareth, London

Stop hoarding Metro!

Can the old fella on the No.51 bus to Woolwich grab one Metro and not 14? You’re not a paperboy and I can never get one after you! Jon, St Paul’s Cray

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