It’s not Partygate that makes Boris Johnson unfit to lead the country

If Boris Johnson is considered unfit to lead the country only because he may have joined a party (or two or three) during lockdown, then we really haven’t been paying attention.

Prorogation of parliament, constant obfuscation and refusal to reply truthfully to questions put to him in parliament, refusing to suspend a minister for serious misconduct in office, leading to his attempt to tear up rules on sleaze before having to back down. The ministerial code, free holidays, free wallpaper, advocating a disastrous Brexit involving more untruths to advance his own career. Smearing political opponents, scandalous awarding of PPE contracts to cronies, covert threats to the BBC and his own standards committee.

In other words, he has utterly disgraced the office of prime minister. If he goes down for this one serious misdemeanour involving drinks parties when there are so many other, far worse, transgressions, then what planet are we living on?

Lynn Brymer

Ashford, Kent

The Metropolitan Police are prevented by electoral rules from publishing the details of their enquiries into unlawful gatherings in Downing Street because of the forthcoming local elections (I decline to trivialise these offences by calling them parties).

How absurd that, as Tom Peck points out, the police can’t tell you whether or not the leader of a party has broken the law until after you’ve voted for them.

Furthermore, the Commons committee charged with investigating the veracity of Boris Johnson’s words to parliament is compiled in such a loaded way that it might seem the Tories are marking their own homework. The obstructive way in which the archaic rules of parliament are used to preserve the Gilbert and Sullivan nature of our democracy is heartbreaking.

Graham Barlow

Wirral

Whilst watching the entertaining TV series The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe, I could not help thinking the titular lead character reminded me of someone.

Then near the end it came to me, it was none other than our prime minister, Boris Johnson. The similarities appear stark indeed: a total inability to grasp that every hare-brained scheme he thinks up is doomed to fail, a lack of vision in seeing the problems being stored up for the future by his recklessness; and last but not least, pointless trips abroad containing badly thought-through photographs.

The only palpable difference I could make out was John Darwin’s apparent lack of ability in quoting classical verse.

Robert Boston

Kingshill, Kent

Much as it pains me to say it, perhaps it is time to move on from “Partygate” to more important issues.

Boris Johnson misled parliament on the Irish border, GDP being the fastest growing in G7, more people in employment, numbers of refugees and so on.

All these facts may have a grain of truth but the implication and lack of specific detail is such that they are untrue. Most, if not all, were repeated in parliament by the British prime minister (I refuse to say our PM as it might suggest I endorse him) who was advised by reliable and independent statistical organisations that he was inaccurate.

I’m not sure what he hopes to gain from hanging on in office. Could he be a closet Remainer who is prepared to sacrifice his reputation so that a Labour government may be elected soon?

Rob Alliott

Cambridge

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It seems the EU will be legislating for all phones and similar portable IT products to have the same charging ports and technology.

Presumably, it won’t be long before Jacob Rees-Mogg insists that the UK adopt its own non-EU standard, possibly some sort of clockwork-based device for charging mobile phones.

G Forward

Stirling

With reference to Ed Dorrell’s article about Tony Blair advocating that 70 per cent of students should go to university, it is a crying shame that he appears to have ignored apprenticeships.

I have two sons. One went to university and now has a successful career, but it bears no relationship to the degree he took. The other did an apprenticeship in accounting and now has a successful career in that field.

The apprenticeship was far and away the better form of education. It identified a skill set which has been continuously honed and his practical experience served him well. Furthermore, no debt was owed to a university. We should be promoting apprenticeships over university.

Esther Marchant

Bedfordshire