History books will be harsh on us for ignoring Yemen

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

A woman carries her son Imran Faraj, 8 years old, who is suffering from malnutrition in Yemen (Abdul Jabbar Zeyad/Reuters)

Anna Stavrianakis is right to raise the moral bankruptcy of selling arms to countries implicated in war crimes in Yemen. This reveals the hypocrisy of the UK and the US. It is hard to believe that they have been moved by the brutal murder of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi while at the same time remaining blind to those emaciated, starved, victimised, forgotten and abandoned in an impoverished country on the verge of famine. History books will be harsh on us for failing to stave off such seething injustices.

Dr Munjed Farid Al Qutob​
London, NW2

Recruiting from the private sector into the public sector? Bad idea, Jeremy

Jeremy Hunt (Mr “I forgot-I-owned-those-luxury-flats-guv”) is just the latest in a long line of intellectually grey politicians to come to the conclusion that what government needs is to channel more public money towards those from the private sector. Never mind that welfare already subsidises low wages in the UK – we’ve been here so many times before.

I remember when an influx from the private sector was the answer to a shortage of teachers and also to “prepare pupils for life”. Business people were encouraged to take up teaching. My youngest daughter suffered from this experiment with one of the worst teachers she ever had who was entirely incapable of – well – teaching and with, apparently, no understanding of 9 year olds.

Passing over the obvious point that “those in the private sector” seem to succeed these days by asset stripping (anyone heard of Sir Philip Green?) has it ever occurred to those in Westminster that if we train and fund those in the public sector properly we wouldn’t have to bring in the locusts?

Amanda Baker
Edinburgh

Surely there will be loud applause for Jeremy Hunt, and his latest seismic suggestion to appoint British ambassadors from the ranks of business leaders: truly an act of genius. May I be the first to put forward a few names for his learned consideration: fracking mogul James Ratcliffe, ex-G4S boss Nick Buckles (remember him), ex-RBS CEO Fred Goodwin (no surprise, but could not resist) and last but not least Arron Banks! Our troubles are now all but over.

Robert Boston
Kings Hill

Where were the Tories for the Budget debate?

I’ve switched BBC Parliament on and the House Of Commons is virtually empty. I’ve seen Corbyn and McDonnell earlier but, on returning, the place is even emptier.

Are these people not paid an enormous salary, most of which they don’t spend because of what they claim in expenses, to do this job that most of them aren’t even qualified to do? No May, Hammond, Truss, McVey, Duncan Smith, Raab, Hunt, Johnson, Javid to mention a few who think highly of themselves but not us. Most of us in the real world would get the sack for simply not bothering to turn up. This is simply unacceptable and yet more evidence of their utter disdain, nihilism, lack of ethics and incompetence. Disgraceful.

R Kimble
Leeds

We are all immigrants

I wholeheartedly agree with the argument that President Trump is using the crisis surrounding the caravan of migrants at the southern US border for his own political purposes, prior to the upcoming mid-term elections. With the rise of anti-immigration and protectionist policies, we must look to the past for guidance with regards to international politics over borders and migration.

The United States was founded through the process of migration, as stated by Franklin D Roosevelt: “Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.”

Eleanor Parker
Newcastle

All hail Che!

At the end of the Budget speech, deputy speaker Lindsay Hoyle attempted to take the proceedings on. He was interrupted by a rush of hard-left Labour MPs bursting into applause and providing a standing ovation aimed at the public gallery.

Who was up there? Che Guevara?

Edward Thomas
Eastbourne