Times letters: Starmer’s decision to abolish NHS England

Sir, NHS England is an easy target as a quango but it is responsible for the implementation of new technology across the NHS, such as the NHS app. Now we face two years of upheaval and a demotivated workforce, who’ve just learnt on television that they’re losing their jobs. New technology is the likely saviour of the NHS and it is apparent that politicians have little idea of what these bodies actually do. These employees are “working people”, worthy of some consideration, not a callous ditching on TV. I never expected such behaviour from a Labour government. It is to be hoped that the unions can restore some sanity to this self-inflicted mess.
David McCauley
Ledbury, Herefordshire

Sir, As a consultant who has worked in the NHS at various levels for nearly 40 years I have witnessed ever-increasing inefficiencies and lack of productivity. Our colleagues in Europe and Australia have shown their ability to combine superior performance, outcomes and patient experience with cost-effectiveness. I fear Sir Keir Starmer has made a serious error of judgment — he could have abolished the NHS altogether and replaced it with one of the models that has been proven to work.
Dr Matt Barnard
Uxbridge, Middx

Sir, The chief executives of the NHS Confederation and NHS Providers, both quoted in your reports, might have done better to keep their heads down. I would get rid of them too.
Godfrey Robson
Edinburgh

Sir, In 1969 I was appointed consultant orthopaedic surgeon to two district hospitals. Both had ex-military chief executives: a squadron leader and a colonel. The hospitals ran like clockwork, and at one time we had the shortest waiting time for hip replacements in England. Hence my plea for military management.
Derek Parsons, FRCS (ret’d)
Tadworth, Surrey

Starlink side-effect

Sir, The use of Starlink on ships for the welfare of crew members is not a new concept in some merchant shipping companies (“Royal Navy to use Musk technology for TV amid security fears”, Mar 12; letter, Mar 13). We have installed it throughout our fleet, with the result that our crews are now able to have frequent video calls with family and watch Netflix regularly. This is an improvement on previous systems, where emails and occasional phone calls were the most on offer, and is part of continuing efforts to improve the working environment for seafarers.

We are, however, grappling with two unintended consequences. First, complaints from crew that they are now expected to call home much more frequently, often burdening them with home issues that they are in no position to solve. Second, that when not on duty seafarers stay in their cabins watching films. Captains have complained that even at social events crew are glued to their phones. Both problems, in different ways, are detrimental to crew cohesion and require imaginative management.
Sam Swire
Chairman, Swire Shipping

Human rights law

Sir, Despite its detractors the Human Rights Act (HRA) has been a success. Incorporating key articles of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) into UK law, the HRA has, as we claimed at the time, “brought rights home”. It is the success of the HRA that provides the prime minister with a way through the dilemma raised by Tom Baldwin (“ECHR looms large as No 10’s next big issue”, comment, Mar 14), about the difficulties to effective immigration control that the ECHR presents. These have been thrown up not by the convention itself but by expansive, and sometimes inconsistent or incoherent, interpretations of its articles by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

The fundamental problem with the Strasbourg court is that there is no democratic override to its decisions, as there is for any decision of a British court, and many of its judgments are of a lower quality than those of our senior courts. Given the undoubted success of the HRA, the question that must now arise is: what utility is there in the UK being bound any more into the Strasbourg court? Not much, is my answer. The convention articles are safe enough within our own HRA.
Jack Straw
Home secretary 1997-2001; lord chancellor 2007-10

Fighting fake news

Sir, Your report “Russian network uses AI chatbots to spread disinformation” (Mar 6) exposes a critical vulnerability in our digital landscape: the manipulation of AI chatbots to spread falsehoods. Taiwan has long been on the frontlines of combating such disinformation. Facing relentless attempts to sway public opinion, the country has developed real-time fact-checking systems to swiftly debunk false narratives, digital literacy programs to help citizens critically assess information sources and international collaborations that strengthen global defences against these threats.

As AI-driven disinformation tactics grow more sophisticated, democracies worldwide must take proactive steps. Enhancing AI resilience through better detection mechanisms, investing in media literacy to equip people with critical thinking skills and fostering global co-operation will be essential in safeguarding information integrity. Taiwan’s model shows that resilience is possible without restricting free speech. The global community should take note and apply these lessons before AI-generated propaganda further undermines democratic societies.
Shannon Shiau
Visiting scholar, Sigur Centre for Asian Studies, George Washington University

Sentencing rules

Sir, The difficulty in forcing prisoners to attend court for their sentencing is clearly illustrated in the Kyle Clifford case (letter, Mar 13). Clifford received a whole of life tariff when sentenced. What further sanction exists to the court to punish his non-attendance — torture perhaps? In my experience it was only in the most egregious of cases that defendants refused to attend their sentencing. Generally they knew what was likely to happen to them and were too cowardly to face their victims.
His Honour David Ticehurst
Circuit judge 1998 -2020; Winscombe, Somerset

Sir, When I was first appointed, before sentencing an individual it was necessary to check the most recent sentence confirmed by the Court of Appeal, which could be found in Kemp and Kemp and its supplements. Sentencing guidelines made that unnecessary, and as such were very useful. It is difficult to criticise the new guidelines without seeing them (“Sentencing rules for minorities ‘like a get-out-of-jail-free card’”, Mar 14) but what they appear to be doing is to be taking a further step in substituting judicial common sense with what I would call a tick box (others would call it an algorithm) as a route towards the awful prospect of sentencing by “Judge AI”.
His Honour Andrew Hamilton
Nottingham

Take cover

Sir, I thoroughly recommend using an umbrella in the Hertfordshire village of Flamstead, where people are being divebombed by a Harris’s hawk (“Divebombing hawk sends villagers running for cover”, Mar 12). I worked in a boys’ school in Sydney, where on arrival I had to put up my umbrella in scorching heat to avoid being injured by magpies swooping at my head. The pupils were very amused: I wasn’t.
Emily Hutchings
Bolney, W Sussex

Play’s the thing

Sir, Given the massive rise in theatre prices on both sides of the pond (“Broadway stars send prices soaring”, Mar 11), surely it is time for theatre producers to consider following Athol Fugard’s maxim: all that a play needs is an actor on a stage and an audience; and around the actor, space, and words; and when the words fail, silence. This has stood the test of time, athough even Fugard’s own work has occasionally been overwhelmed by over-enthusiastic theatre producers, directors and actors, diluting rather than enhancing the effect.
Professor Dennis Walder
London N10

Diehard football

Sir, I remember watching the first Match of the Day on BBC2 in August 1964, presented by Kenneth Wolstenholme (letters, Mar 12 & 14; Alyson Rudd, sport, Mar 11): no pundits, no analysis, just the match. By contrast, for the Euro 2024 final there was a four-strong panel plus two commentators and further presenters pitch-side. The BBC could save a huge amount of money by going back to concentrating on the game. At present a third of the programme is given over to analysis. All diehard football fans want is to be shown more of the game.
David Smith
Sandhurst, Kent

Costa del Solitude

Sir, Your article on loneliness on the Costa del Sol reminded me of a conversation with an Anglican chaplain there about 30 years ago (“Retiring abroad risks loneliness on Costa del Solitude”, Mar 14). I asked him what his ministry consisted of, over and above the liturgical services. He replied: “I spend my time playing bridge, going to drinks parties, burying the dead and rescuing people from séances as they try to contact their departed loved ones.” Loneliness was an issue then and it seems it is much the same now.
The Rev Prebendary Desmond Tillyer
London SW1

Men of substance

Sir, Of course married men are more likely to be overweight than single men (“Married men more likely to pile on pounds”, Mar 13). All the young people on the beach with their six packs are looking their best to attract a partner. Once this is achieved they can let themselves relax, and the muscles retreat under a comfortable layer of fat. This is particularly noticeable in Greece, where it can be taken for granted that a man with a body like a young god is single.
The Rev Ron Wood
Galhampton, Somerset

Betting on the bay

Sir, We have a south-facing bay window overlooking the drive in a room that also has a door giving access to the garden (letter, Mar 14). Years ago a visiting bishop, Henry Montgomery Campbell, a Gallipoli veteran and famous in church circles for his mordant wit, quickly took in his surroundings and observed, as one well versed in parishioner avoidance as well as military tactics: “Ah yes, an excellent observation post and a secure escape route.”
Sir Hew Pike
Bentley, Hants

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