The Sunaks should think twice before they redecorate at Downing Street

Sean O’Grady reveals the Sunaks’ plans for their Downing Street flat (Thursday). Are they really going to indulge in such refurbishment?

They may not be there for long. And obviously they wouldn’t need to persuade anyone else to pay for it. But they might consider the environmental damage that such alterations would wreak. And might they not be embarrassed by parading their intolerance of less-than-perfect drapery at a time when poor families are becoming ill and dying because of the mould in their homes? If they really couldn’t bear Johnson’s gold wallpaper, perhaps they could just paint over it.

Susan Alexander

Frampton Cotterell

It was very sad to hear about the passing of footballing legend Pele, and the justified praise given to his skills. He is being claimed to be the greatest ever footballer, in this I have to disagree.

The greatest footballer so far is, in my humble opinion, George Best. His sublime dribbling, total mastery of the ball, the brilliant goals he scored: he was the supreme master of his craft. He can be watched online at George Best: True Genius. What saddens me in watching these videos is the disgraceful thuggery committed by players who should not have been on the same football pitch as George. He was hacked down mercilessly by thugs, you couldn’t call them footballers, they wouldn’t get away with it today with every move covered by TV cameras.

Remember also the conditions George had to play in, the pitches at times were like ploughed fields. Yes, Pele was a great footballer but the greatest so far has to be George Best, a true genius.

John Fair

Co Mayo, Ireland

We, volunteers of the Hugo Chavez International Foundation for Peace, Friendship and Solidarity (HCIF-PFS) were deeply saddened when news about the death of King Pele of Brazil war aired worldwide.

We would like to extend our sincere condolences to football fans around the world, and most importantly the family of King Pele, his friends and loved ones.

Born in Minas Gerais, Brazil on 23 October 1940, Pele was the only football player to have won three world cups for his country. Pele (nicked name) was called Edson Arantes do Nascimento. His father, João Ramos do Nascimento, himself was a professional football player, who was forced to retire from the pitch when his leg was fractured.

In 1970, Pele led his team to win the World Cup for the third time. His goal in that tournament was not because it was Brazil’s 100th goal in the World Cup, but a goal that was close to Pele’s heart as he had scored it with his head.

Pele invested a lot of time and effort to advance the popularity of football. He wrote autobiographies, and even starred in various documentary films that focused on football or on his life as a football player. Towards the end of his football career, he displayed one of his skills as a musician. His other talents, too, were invested in promoting football and goodwill among the people of the world.

Sport, and in particular football, has been a unifying and rallying point in difficult times for all countries of the world. King Pele who remained until his death, one of the best in the history of football, will always be in the hearts of football fans around the world.

The world would undoubtedly keep him in mind and heart forever.

(Chief) Alimamy Bakarr Sankoh

President of the governing council and international executive director, Hugo Chavez International Foundation for Peace, Friendship and Solidarity (HCIF-PFS)

One wonders if the authorities learnt anything from the last winter of discontent (in 1978-9). Then, much like now, there was widespread resentment of unfair wage caps. “Winter of discontent mark 1” led predictably to the government of the day being soundly thrashed at the next election, something which virtually everyone (including the Tories) expects to happen now.

Opposition leaders are clearly taking their time as they ponder how to deal with the current discontent. However, a carefully framed and equitable prices and incomes policy is surely the way forward. Industrial peace requires nothing less.

Andrew McLuskey

Address supplied

Another insightful article by Mary Dejevsky on the situation in Afghanistan. However, while talk is always better than war, I have to take issue with her conclusion that we should not be supplying arms to Ukraine. We tried “diplomacy” in 1938, it was called appeasement then, and it is doubtful we would be benefitting from a free press today were it not for the vast quantities of arms supplied to us by the US.

G Forward

Stirling

The editor’s letter (30/12/22) argues that the Lib Dems have cause for optimism as the next general election draws nearer. I agree, but add that a major reason for Boris Johnson’s landslide victory in 2019 was fear of a Jeremy Corbyn-led Labour party.

The Liberal Democrats performed poorly because potential supporters felt the need to vote Conservative as the only sure way to keep out what they regarded as an irresponsibly-led Labour Party. One cause of a Labour victory at the next election will be the electorate in Tory seats taking the risk to vote Lib Dem despite the prospect of a government formed by Labour (with or without third-party parliamentary support). This also helps to explain Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership strategy as he steers a course between those who voted for Brexit and those who want a Blairite approach.

Steven Fogel

London

I’d never really considered such things before, but thanks to the letter from, Martin Rubenstein (Friday, a sad day), I also realise that the three milestones mentioned are pertinent to my life with The Independent. However, I must mention a fourth defining moment which does cross my mind occasionally: The death of Miles Kington in 2008 after having been in at the beginning like me.

The demise of the paper edition took me a few weeks to come to terms with; whereas for obvious reasons the deaths of Robert Fisk (whose childhood home was 100 metres from my son’s school) and Miles Kington are harder to rationalise. I shall miss the erudite articles from Hamish MacRae, but I am pleased all is well and I am confident he will prosper at any quality paper he chooses to write for. Best wishes.

Robert Boston

Kingshill, Kent