Readers' letters - July 31

After a string of dud leaders, such as Paddy Ashdown, Nick Clegg and Tim Farron, the Lib Dems never seem to learn, and have now picked another proven dud in Vince Cable.

This is the man who, as business secretary, sold off the Royal Mail for a quarter of its true value and then had the nerve to tell us that it was a good deal.

He went on to brag to two women that he had declared war on Rupert Murdoch and had that power removed from his remit by David Cameron.

Anyone with an ounce of sense would have done it first and talked about it after!

Even now as leader of the Lib Dems, he is still banging on about a second referendum and cancelling Brexit.

When are the Lib Dems going to realise that it is this policy that is causing their demise?

They were all but wiped out in the 2015 general election and their share of the vote reduced even further in this year’s election.

The majority voted in the referendum to leave the EU, the Lib Dems need to accept this and get some real policies or they will disappear completely, and, with Vince as leader, the Lib Dems disappearing is a distinct possibility.

D Wood

Address supplied

conflict

Similar security elsewhere

Your article about the mock metal detector (pictured) installed at the Harris Library on July 25, to demonstrate the hardship that Muslims had to contend with when seeking to enter the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, might have left your readers with the wrong impression because of the absence of context and salient facts.

For example:

n The metal detectors are exactly the same as those installed at airports, government buildings and other locations worldwide where security is deemed to be important, including holy Islamic sites in Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.

Palestinians / Muslims apparently have no problem with these, only the ones installed by the Israelis in an attempt to prevent future terrorist attacks.

n They were installed in response to the murder of two Druze police officers by terrorists who had smuggled guns on to the Temple Mount.

n They were installed at the Muslim entrances to the Temple Mount – not on the Mount itself – in order to maintain the sanctity of that holy site and avoid infringing the agreement with the Waqf (Jordanian Army) which is responsible for security on the Mount and for stopping non-Muslims from praying there.

n Prior to the incident, similar metal detectors had been in place at the only non-Muslim entrance to the Temple Mount for over 10 years.

n In the two days following the murder incident, when the Waqf abandoned the site in protest against these security measures, the Israeli army temporarily took responsibility for security, during which time they carried out a detailed search of the site. In the Al-Aqsa Mosque, they found caches of guns, knives, explosives etc.

n In yet another act of goodwill, the Israelis have removed these metal detectors.

However, the Palestinians are insisting that Israel removes all security measures. Violence has been threatened if it doesn’t, and the Waqf is refusing to resume its responsibility for security on the Temple Mount until it does.

I agree metal detectors and other security measures can and will cause inconvenience for those wishing to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque but there would have been no need had weapons not been brought onto Temple Mount and police officers murdered. I would be grateful if you would publish this so that your readers become better informed about the situation.

Clive Hyman

via email

employment

No friends of the workers

Well, the courts have ruled that the Tory law of charging applicants £1,200 for an employment tribunal has been found to be unlawful.

The Government has now decided to pay back £32m to people who took out employment tribunals.

That is a lot of tribunals.

Add to that number the workers who couldn’t afford to pay out the £1,200 and it shows that the law was nothing more than spiteful against workers whilst being applauded by the employers who are now up in arms at the high court decision. Ask yourselves why are the employers upset at the judgement?

It means they won’t be able to sack workers they don’t like. They will have to prove the case against an employee who is not up to standard or not suitable or dishonest. Nothing wrong in that, that is fair.

Let’s just remember the last General Election where Mrs May tried to suggest that the Tories would look after the working class.

That was as big a lie as Thatcher told in the 70s and 80s when she brought in anti-trade union legislation that was again unfair.

So if you ever hear a Tory say they are for the working class, just remember Thatcher, Cameron (who brought in the £1,200 charge) and May, who now has to pay back £32m. They don’t mean it, they want you to believe it.

Unfortunately it just isn’t true.

Tony Monks

Fulwood

fitness

Joining gym a good choice

After having to give up work due to ill health, I thought a regime of gentle exercise may be helpful. I made the big decision (for me) to join a gym, even though I was very apprehensive because I am 60 and believed that gyms were intimidating to say the least.

I was clueless. But having seen BayFit on White Lund, I picked up courage and joined. If I had any reservations they have all disappeared. The attitude, atmosphere and sheer respect and helpfulness of the staff are brilliant.

Gymmy

Address supplied

Sport

Final score was actually 1-0

I am writing due to an article you recently published. The game between Preston North End against Scunthorpe United was played on Tuesday, November 5, 1985 (LP June 17). I know this to be the case, as I was one of the 2,007 in attendance that day. Most of the facts reported are correct.

However, the final score was not. The match ended in a 1-0 victory to Scunthorpe United.

Michael Norris

Fulwood