Channel anger

Sir: I fear that in your leading article (‘Our duty to refugees’, 11 March) you find yourself in the same bind as the Labour party and at odds with majority opinion in the country. While people in the UK are vexed by the Channel crossers, this is only because it is the most obvious example of the failure of the political class to control immigration as a whole. The population of the UK is increasing fast: this is almost wholly as a result of immigration. Despite government propaganda about the necessity of migration to ensure an adequate supply of labour to support an ageing population, it remains very unpopular. Migrants are going to get old too: are we to expand our population endlessly? The truth of the issue of migration, as was always stated by Migration Watch, is that it is numbers that are most important and currently there are simply far too many people coming to the UK and staying here, illegally or otherwise.

Unless the political class grasps this issue, the public will come to the conclusion that their leaders just don’t care. If this happens, political forces will arise which will bypass the existing consensus of the bien pensants.

Iain Cassie
Lymington, Hampshire

BBC egos

Sir: In reviewing the career of Cabinet Secretary Simon Case (‘Worst Case scenario’, 11 March), James Heale echoes Professor Peter Hennessy’s view that, when ensuring good government, ‘the letter of the rules is less important than… players who understand their spirit’. Yet, as recent events have shown, this can apply not just to Whitehall but to other organisations, notably the BBC. Gary Lineker’s tweet criticising the government’s approach to illegal immigration had no real effect other than causing difficulty for the organisation that employs him. But publicly controversial employees were always likely once the BBC started giving key presentational roles to those who had achieved fame and wealth beyond broadcasting: Alan Sugar, the judges on Dragons’ Den and Lineker on Match of the Day being obvious examples. The problem with such ‘prior achievers’ is that they are usually more egotistical and self-asserting than other broadcasters; indeed, they are seemingly encouraged to be so by their shows’ producers. Such traits are not easily reconciled with an awareness of collective responsibility and the self-restraint it requires.

Richard Kelly
Manchester 

Rep sheet

Sir: After reading Douglas Murray’s article about Jonathan Coad and those who consult him about reputation crisis management (‘Please afford me this little gloat’, 11 March), I visited the lawyer’s website, where a long list of dozens of clients is published under the header ‘Clients’ (including, incidentally, GB News, where Mr Coad came to grief in that recent interview). This long list includes the names of organisations one would not normally expect to have reputation crises. There are well-known independent schools, universities, tennis and golf players, chefs, restaurants, retailers and medical clinics. If I were to need the services of such an individual, I certainly wouldn’t want my details published for all to see.

Wendy Bennett
Wirral

The issue of restitution

Sir: In his robust defence of maintaining the status quo for the Parthenon Sculptures, Jonathan Sumption cites three museums to bolster his case, stating that ‘they do not suffer from the cringing self- abasement which has gripped the museum establishment in Britain’ (Diary, 25 February). They are poor choices, at least as far as his argument is concerned. The Metropolitan Museum’s ‘pride in their past’ extends to returning artefacts to Nigeria and Nepal, establishing a provenance research project, and having 27 antiquities seized by the police. The Louvre has established a restitution project with Sotheby’s to examine works of art acquired between 1933 and 1945, and is also returning objects to West Africa. Meanwhile the Pergamon Museum is attempting to reclaim treasures stolen by the Russians.

The issue of restitution is often complex and nuanced. Pride in one’s past can sometimes mean righting wrongs, or seeking accommodation. George Osborne’s valiant efforts to reach agreement with the Greek government should be applauded, not greeted with hysterical and ill-informed overreaction.

Ed Vaizey
House of Lords, London SW1

In character

Sir: How I agree with Emily Rhodes on World Book Day (‘Costume drama’, 4 March). As a bookseller for many years, I participated with the best of them. We all recognise there are opportunities to sell books here. As a parent I helped dress my two in a range of costumes, and they enjoyed the experience. But I take the same view of dressing up as characters as I do of discussing books in book clubs, despite setting up a couple of successful ones in my bookselling days. Reading is essentially a solitary exercise; because it is so much about imagination and our individual interpretation of an author’s words, I believe the collective response can muddy our own experience of a book.

David Ford
Saltaire, West Yorkshire

Passover sandwich

Sir: Lucy Dunn writes in her ‘Notes on… meal deals’ (25 February) that the 4th Earl of Sandwich is generally accredited with the invention of the sandwich in 1762. However, in the 1st century bc a famous rabbi, Hillel the Elder, mixed apples, nuts, spices and wine together and put them between two pieces of matzoh (or flatbread), which were to be eaten with bitter herbs, thus preceding John Montagu by 18 centuries. The Hillel sandwich is still eaten at the Passover Seder.

Kay Bagon
Radlett, Hertfordshire