Forget walking holidays – the prime minister should walk away

Please send your letters to letters@independent.co.uk

We now know the prime minister’s true colours. The red lines were simply a ploy to keep the Brexiteers happy while she secretly plotted to sign away our rights and freedoms acquired over the last 800 years, in return for paying £39bn into the EU budget – to be followed by annual contributions expected to be about £6bn.

Apparently the PM intends to spend the summer on a charm offensive to persuade us all what a great deal this is. This nonsense can still be stopped, but only if she is replaced by someone tough enough to negotiate a fair deal, instead of conceding point after point and finally pleading with the German chancellor to throw her a few crumbs.

The prime minister must go.

John Sims
Guernsey

People in north Yorkshire who voted for Julian Smith should go on social media and watch how he responds to being questioned about his possible resignation, following an issue with a fellow Tory MP over Brexit. May says it was an “honest mistake”, says the caption and, as it continues, she is so honest and transparent we have to believe her. Did you really vote for this pathetic excuse of a leader?

Dr R Kimble
Leeds

That joke isn’t funny anymore

Tom Peck’s political sketch on Theresa May’s tour “selling Brexit again”, unlike some other political sketches, comes over as quite a sober piece of accurate political comment.

It does not make one laugh, rather hold a whimsical half smile on one’s face at the “busted flush” that is the whole result of the Brexit experiment. When, oh when, will the people of our country, and our political master with their grandiose ideas, grow up, face reality and abandon the pseudo-fudges and rhetoric designed to obfuscate the truth?

We should never have followed this path; we are destroying the bedrock of our economy and face a really bleak future which will damage both our own economy and those of our European friends. All this to discover we long ago slid down the world rankings as a powerful and sensible voice of reason, or example, to the world.

Brexit stinks. It is an unnecessary act of harm to the poor and middle income households, built upon the pride and arrogance of the few, whose apparent aim is to increase the opportunities for the rich to make yet more money on the backs of the poorer echelons of society.

For goodness sake, there are enormous worldwide problems facing us, such as global warming, mass migration, worldwide financial inequalities, plastic pollution and dumping, which will surely be more important in making our lives miserable enough in the very near future without the unnecessary wasting of our little remaining political and financial common sense, along with our children’s and grandchildren’s futures, on the fallacy we were knowingly sold.

As individuals, anyone who really cares needs to speak out to make the case for abandoning our folly and to mend the broken reed that is our current political system. We should address constructively our own weaknesses of massive and growing inequalities within our own borders and let go of the false pride. We still can be an example to others for the good of all, but time is now critically short before we all regret bitterly our national folly.

I personally am ashamed of what we have allowed our country to become, through our lack of judgement and the abandonment of the common principles of a society which protects its weaker members and works for the common good.

Jenny Rorrison
Address supplied

I’m so relieved to hear that Jeremy Hunt is to spend the summer touring the 27 EU capitals selling the Chequers plan for Brexit, because he had such an impressive track record as a negotiator during his time as health secretary. ​Oh, hang on....

Bruce Napier​
Derbyshire

With friends like these...

The quote “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer”, attributed to Sun Tzu in his work The Art of War, is over 2,500 years old and yet it is still relevant today. The problem is in knowing who your enemy is and what to say. There is a need for a clarity and consistency of language.

Trump has buddied up to Putin and Kim Jong-un, previously considered enemies – even if the diplomatic language put it more nicely. The latest tweet to the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, in capital letters is more clear, and there is little doubt about the potential outcome of any conflict.

The words of “war” are rarely so clear, although there is some interesting analogies to be examined in US secretary of state Mike Pompeo’s likening of the Iranian regime to the mafia. The mafia have very clear leadership, a high degree of loyalty, disputes are resolved quickly and leaks of information are very rare – characteristics perhaps not always found in the current US leadership.

The more nasty characteristics of the mafia, as portrayed in The Sopranos, could apply to many world leaders who treat their citizens horrifically.

President Trump has expressed concern about the fake news media, and yet there is so often confusion in his media releases, whether they be tweets or interviews. Why can’t the world be more honest – we like so-and-so, so-and-so are our enemies, and so-and-so mistreat their citizens – rather than the weasel words we hear now?

Try to think of the last person you knew who was always honest – were they a politician?

Dennis Fitzgerald
Melbourne

Acid attack – first response

Please consider adding a simple one line reminder to relevant news articles in the future: “Acid first aid: rinse it off.”

Media published detailed advice earlier, but in my opinion that was slightly academic and hard to remember.

In practice, most acids are easy to counter. They need time to work, so we shouldn’t give them time. If you act within a minute, there is a good chance that the attack will cause only temporary issues. Just quickly soak up any excessive acid on the victim’s body and then flood it with water. You should start this before calling 999, because every second matters.

Rinse it off: use as much water as possible. If you don’t have water at hand, any cool drinkable liquid should be safe, or at least better than nothing. Bottled water, soft drinks, fruit juices, milk, beer, even alcoholic drinks. Heck, even urine.

Ideally, the liquid should be sterile, but in an emergency that’s not essential. It’s better to treat an infection than a lost eye.

After the first rinse you should call 999 (if no one else did), inform them of the attack and find more water to continue gently rinsing the affected area.

Prompt first aid can save a life of suffering. Speed is essential; perfection is not. Just be quick and remember that one line: rinse it off.

Endre Nagy
Surbiton