To avoid drowning, should we all just move uphill?

King Cnut couldn’t hold back the tide – and, likewise, residents and businesses occupying flood plains can’t avoid floods ("Severe flood warning issued as the UK faces more weather disruptions", Tuesday 7 January).

With weather changing because we have polluted the atmosphere and with a landscape intensively farmed and largely denuded of trees so that water finds its way rapidly into rivers that are often confined by human settlement, it is time to seriously consider giving water more space.

As we seem to be unable to control flooding in many thousands of towns and villages, serious consideration should be given to abandoning our riversides. Continual renovation of flood damage seems futile.

One solution would be to move uphill. In the long term, this would be less costly, both financially and emotionally.

Ian Reid

Kilnwick, Yorkshire

I couldn’t agree more with John Rentoul’s piece on the PM’s response to the outrageous statements emanating from Elon Musk’s social media account ("‘Attack’ Starmer is right to tell Elon Musk to get lost", Monday 6 January).

I hope more people both now move their X (formerly Twitter) accounts to other providers, and decide not to buy Tesla vehicles. The one thing that may sway the richest man in the world is to make him less wealthy.

David Felton

Wistaston, Chester

I was never convinced that a global tech billionaire like Elon Musk could be so “misinformed” as to think that Tommy Robinson was in jail for “exposing” child grooming gangs in the UK ("Musk doubles down in grooming gangs row after being accused of ‘spreading lies’ by Starmer", Monday 6 January).

A man with his resources would know Robinson was jailed for contempt of court and defaming a young Syrian boy.

Musk has finally admitted on X that he knew Robinson was in jail for contempt of court, but, according to him, there was “no justification” for such a long sentence. I’m sorry – when did Musk become the arbiter of the British legal system?

Whatever our political leanings, we shouldn’t stand for such undue and brazen interference in our internal affairs.

Atif Rashid

Bentley, Hampshire

Elon Musk would be wise to check his own backyard before assailing Sir Keir Starmer and his safeguarding minister over their record in tackling sexual violence against women and children (“Elon Musk’s attacks on Jess Phillips a ‘disgraceful smear’”, Sunday 5 January).

The US compares unfavourably against the UK in terms of child sexual exploitation and violence against women. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services Reports, a staggering 60 million Americans report themselves as victims of child sexual exploitation, or broadly 20 per cent of the American population, against an estimated 7 per cent of the UK’s. A quarter of women in the UK endure some form of physical abuse as opposed to one-third of American women, while annual US child homicide victims over the last decade has been, on average, 15 times greater than the UK.

Yet, despite the extent of child grooming scandals across the US, there has been a paucity of official federal or state overview inquiries, beyond several Congressional investigations largely confined to online abuse.

Sadly, this debate risks descending into point scoring between old liberal democratic allies who face remarkably similar domestic and international challenges and have far more in common than not.

Paul Dolan

Northwich, Cheshire

Elon Musk thinks, with his billions, he can control the world, getting involved with German politics as well as trying to influence the UK with his lies and vile right-wing politics. My dad fought against one tyrant. I am sure that the British people will not put up with another trying to destroy our democracy.

Paul Atkins

Burntwood, Staffordshire

Jon Sopel is right to highlight the path of Nigel Farage’s falling out with Elon Musk (“Make no mistake, Farage has a real Musk problem”, Monday 6 January). We should, however, be reminded regularly that Reform is not a political party, and should not be treated as one. It is a business and, on that basis, Farage is unlikely to stand down for anyone else to take it on.

John Evans

Pulborough, West Sussex

I spent Sunday evening watching Johnny English Strikes Again. Reading Jon Sopel’s excellent article on the spat between Elon Musk and Nigel Farage, it occurred to me that the film could be redone as a spoof.

Musk would play the data entrepreneur Jason Volta, obviously; Liz Truss, the woman prime minister; Rishi Sunak, her PA Samir; and David Cameron could be head of MI7.

Of course, Farage would make the ideal Johnny English…

Could other readers help complete the casting list?

Simon Fisher

Sellindge, Kent

Like X, Facebook and Instagram are removing their fact checkers to appease the Trump administration ("Meta to get rid of fact checkers on Facebook and Instagram", Tuesday 7 January).

This irresponsible action by hugely powerful corporations will lead to more fake news and conspiracy theories going unchecked. The only way to stop this will be legal action to hold them accountable.

Ian Godfrey

Cockfosters, Herts

I read with interest your assessment of the cost of Brexit ("The damning statistics that reveal the true cost of Brexit, five years on", Saturday 4 January). Yet again, the figures quoted the 2016 vote as being 52 per cent for, 48 per cent against.

Sorry, but would someone please be honest? The only part of the UK that voted in favour of Brexit was England. Scotland, Wales and N Ireland all voted against. Three of the four nations were shortchanged.

In Scotland, we are not all supporters of the SNP, but many of us are still fed up of having been sold down the river by the Home Counties.

L Robertson

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