Freedom of speech? It means you’re free to do what we say

Letters to the editor: our readers share their views. Please send your letters to letters@independent.co.uk

Israeli peace activists raise Palestinian flags in solidarity, on 3 March 2023. Such displays in the UK ‘may not be legitimate’ according to the home secretary (AFP via Getty)

Spot the Tory hypocrite. March 2023: home secretary Suella Braverman says police must prioritise “freedom of speech” over “taking offence” in non-crime incidents and argues officers must have freedom of expression “at the forefront of their minds”. October 2023: Braverman argues waving a Palestinian flag and shouting slogans in solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine may be a criminal offence and threatens that the police will come for those she smears as “glorifying terrorism”.

Sasha Simic

London

Learning from history

In the 1970s, the IRA horrifically bombed innocent people in London, Birmingham and other places in England. Imagine if the British government had, in retaliation, flattened Belfast with air strikes, killing thousands of civilians, saying this was because IRA personnel were embedded amongst the population.

Imagine if they had inflicted a siege upon the people of Belfast, cutting off supplies essential to life, including water and electricity. Imagine if they had told them they must leave their homes instantly and go elsewhere, in their hundreds of thousands, if not millions, ignoring the plight of even sick and injured people in hospital, and newborn babies in the hospitals’ incubators.

The recent actions of Hamas were hideous, barbaric and utterly unthinkable. Israel’s retaliation appears to be putting them in the same category. The world watches in horror, but the criticism of the Israeli government’s blanket revenge seems strangely muted. Innocent Israelis and Palestinians are all human beings, and I believe anything other than civilised negotiations will only result in further bloodshed to either side, for years to come.

Ultimately the only thing that worked in Northern Ireland was when the British government swallowed its reservations and began to talk to the IRA. It may go against the grain to talk to terrorists, but surely it is better than inflicting murder and massacre. Terrorism thrives on resentment and the desire for revenge. Feeding that is madness.

Penny Little

Oxfordshire

The price is right

No doubt Jordan Henderson can wallow luxuriously in Saudi Arabia safe in the knowledge that he is earning a real fortune alongside Steven Gerrard, his boss. While football, and sport in general, is trying to rid the game of a culture of hate, homophobia and violence, Gareth Southgate said, when interviewed by Lawrence Ostlere of The Independent, that: “He is a role model in the squad, I don’t understand it.”

Well, if Mr Southgate doesn’t understand it should he be at the helm of our national team? In my view, that statement doesn’t set an acceptable example to young people. Perhaps the FA or persecuted Saudi nationals should explain to the likes of Henderson, Gerrard and Southgate that people are being imprisoned, tortured and killed for their beliefs and sexuality.

It seems to me and appears also to those who booed him, and the wider public, that by taking Saudi Arabia’s money they are condoning the treatment of their own people and other foreigners. Being booed is showing displeasure in case Mr Henderson and Mr Southgate are in any doubt.

Keith Poole

Basingstoke

The house always wins

Commiserations to Rebecca Reid on discovering the rents in Clapham, London, where she quotes £2,500 per month as average. Likewise, on the borders of W11 and W10 rents are on the rise. The one-bedroom above my ground-floor flat is going for £525 per week, the two-bedroom above that at £1000 per week, or for short stays £2000. All of this is to me an indication that a lot of people are earning a lot of money but still can’t afford to buy.

Mike Dodds

London

A hopeful state

Could any good come from the terrible events we have seen in and around Gaza? Despite what has happened there still has to be hope that there could be a final settlement of the problems that have beset Israel and Palestine. It is widely agreed that the two-state solution is still the holy grail in all this. Surely it is the only thing that would put a stop to the horrors we have seen.

Andrew McLuskey

Kent