Removing Tony the Tiger from Frosties isn’t going to do the slightest thing to address childhood obesity

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At last, the experts have finally come up with a solution to our national obesity epidemic. We’re going to lose the cartoon characters on foods aimed at children.

Having lived with Tony the Tiger et al for 60 years, I’m a tad dubious.

Let’s face it, food is ridiculously cheap and plentiful and we all wolf down what we fancy willy nilly. The food giants will get round this piffling plan within weeks and turn it into another marketing opportunity like they have done with the fizzy drinks tax.

In my local supermarket I note the price of diet and non-diet cola is the same. We aren’t seeing diet drinks significantly cheaper on the shelves to encourage us to buy them, they’ve just cranked up the margin on the diet stuff to avoid a comparison on the shelf and generate more margin for the store and the manufacturer.

The Health and Social Care Committee will have to up their game and accept that the professionals running the fiddle giants aren’t going to back down because a bunch of “well intentioned” but ultimately amateurish MPs dream up feeble initiatives like removing Coco from the Coco Pops pack.

Steve Mackinder
Denver

Northern Ireland now needs its own abortion referendum

Northern Ireland is out of step with the rest of Europe in refusing to terminate a pregnancy resulting from rape/incest or with a serious foetal abnormality. This deplorable situation is complicated by the fact that the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), on which Theresa May’s Westminster majority depends, is implacably opposed to reform.

The DUP says it keeps Northern Ireland in step with the rest of the UK. In light of such a preposterous claim, it’s essential May is not held hostage on a key human rights issue. With the Northern Ireland Assembly vacant, there’s an overwhelming case for legislating to hold a referendum on the issue.

John Cameron
St Andrews

Caroline Lucas will be missed

Many will be sorry to hear that Caroline Lucas is stepping down from her position as co-leader of the Green Party. She will be a hard act to follow.

To my mind at least her departure from this post prompts one further thought – namely that it is really bad that our political system leaves people of huge ability such as Caroline languishing on the opposition benches while people of pretty moderate talent get to make important decisions.

Andrew McLuskey
Staines

The threat of nuclear war shouldn’t be taken lightly

It is indeed a horrible fact that nuclear threats are being used presently in the exchanges between US president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The impact of a nuclear war cannot even be estimated by comparing it with the atomic bombings in Japan in the Second World War. A nuclear explosion could just wipe off parts of planet earth or even splinter it forever. As President John Kennedy said in his inaugural speech in 1961: “The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life.”

Thus, as ordinary citizens we can hope that our leaders speak and act with more discretion. They should realise the immense responsibilities that their jobs entail and cease making nuclear threats as if it is a game of baseball or soccer.

Rajendra Aneja
Mumbai, India

Why did only one person try to help the child?

The rescue of a child from a fourth floor by a refugee who literally scaled to new heights is a story of the best of what we can do.

The other part of this is that it is not an “untold story”. There were many witnesses and many videos but only one climber, although the next door neighbours must also be recognised for helping as well.

What is a concern, again, is how many watched, filmed and photographed but how few helped. Admittedly it was a difficult and dangerous rescue but other options should have been prepared – a blanket to catch the falling baby, a lot of prayers, somebody clearing the area so that rescue vehicles could get in easily.

Praise the hero and look for what can be done by everyone to make the world better.

Dennis Fitzgerald
Melbourne, Australia

Humans drinking cockroach milk is a repulsive idea

Cockroach “milk” is as inhumane as it is unviable. It would take an army of pacific beetle cockroaches – whose guts would be carved out while they’re still alive – to harvest enough “milk” (which is intended for their young) to produce even one glass of this postnatal secretion.

Whether cows or cockroaches, no animals should be forced to suffer when we can get all the protein and other nutrients we need without any of the cruelty associated with dairy “products” by choosing from the many varieties of plant-based milk – including oat, almond, soya, coconut and rice – available in all major supermarkets. And unlike cockroach “milk”, these vegan alternatives truly are trending and growing in popularity by the day.

Jennifer White, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
London N1

HMRC needs more, and better trained, staff

Unfortunately, the fact that HMRC is failing to answer so many telephone calls (Labour condemns “disastrous” HMRC cuts after millions of taxpayer calls go unanswered) comes as little surprise.

A recent survey of accountants highlighted that one of the most important changes they would like to see is an increase in the skills, training and number of HMRC tax inspectors and call centre staff. This is further supported by the findings of a survey of MPs in December 2017, which showed 73 per cent of MPs believe there is a need to increase the number and skills of HMRC staff.

In many areas of tax administration HMRC does a fantastic job but answering the phone no longer appears to be one of them.

Phil Hall, head of public affairs policy, Association of Accounting Technicians
London EC1A