If Matt Hancock is thinking about ‘lavish’ holidays – the government still needs to understand the reality for many

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I was intrigued by Matt Hancock’s comment about “lavish holidays”. Has he suddenly got a conscience about our unequal society – that a foreign holiday, indeed any holiday, was beyond the wildest dreams of most people living in poverty, on universal credit, on the minimum wage or zero-hours contracts?

Does he consider two weeks in Benidorm or wherever lavish?

Perhaps it was a subliminal sideways swipe at the PM spending Christmas in the Caribbean? Intriguing!

Maurizio Moore

Essex

The reference to “big lavish international holidays” by the health secretary can only be described as sanctimonious.

A few might indeed be “lavish”, but a two-week package holiday in the Mediterranean might not cost more than many UK summer holidays.

Jerome Phillips

Hitchin

A key piece

I have just watched the second programme of BBC2 Hospital and I feel utterly ashamed at how little I have done in my life to help and support others.

The personal sacrifices and investment in the lives of patients, from these truly extraordinary people is humbling. I feel guilty and yet I do try to do the right thing.

Far worse is the knowledge that these dedicated, amazing people, are at the mercy of our government. There is a saying: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing“.

I have to confess that I don’t know what we can do at this time, but surely we must do something. God bless our key workers everywhere.

Patrick Broe

Address supplied

Help for all

The chancellor’s decision to extend the furlough scheme and offer a phased return to work is potentially a further lifeline in this crisis. Any “cliff-edge” would have led to a second wave of job losses, benefits claims and lives turned upside down.

Yet as the economy starts to reopen, we must remember that 2.5 million people in the shielded group have been told to stay at home. And they are not always receiving the support they need.

Our frontline advisers have already seen cases where vulnerable people have been denied furlough despite working in jobs that put them in face-to-face contact with others, such as warehouse workers and delivery drivers.

Government guidance is clear that anyone can be furloughed, but it’s just that – guidance. Unless vulnerable workers have a right to be furloughed if they cannot work safely, some will continue to face the impossible choice of paying the bills or protecting their health.

Dame Gillian Guy, chief executive, Citizens Advice

Total clarity

Much space has been devoted since the weekend to the alleged absence of clarity in the new Covid-19 guidance. This point has been made repeatedly in letters, editorials, comments and reports.

May I suggest that future contributions be accompanied by the writer’s alternative wording so we can all judge where the original went wrong, and perhaps marvel at their skill at how to tell us all what to do without ambiguity, with total clarity, and cover every contingency.

For the next update, the government should perhaps recruit the people at Ikea who do the instruction leaflets for self-assembly furniture.

Max Beran

Didcot

Batman doesn’t begin?

Robert Pattinson is the biggest example of privilege. He is playing Batman but he doesn’t want to work out because he thinks it is sending the wrong message.

He mentioned James Dean stating that he never had to be in shape. Films have come a long way. Now they demand that actors look the part. Bodybuilding has come so far that even everyday people are in great shape now days.

If Robert Pattinson won’t embrace playing Batman and look the part he shouldn’t be playing the role. Those playing Batman of old weren’t always in great shape but today actors go the extra mile to really become the character.

Actors lose weight, bulk up or gain muscle if it will contribute to the role being more believable. We are going from Christian Bale giving the role his all and gaining 40 pounds of muscle to Robert Pattinson who wants to be a phony Batman..

I won’t be supporting the movie if the leading man won’t take it seriously.

Dejuan Barnett

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