Rishi Sunak’s press conference was a missed opportunity for cooler heads to prevail

What a missed opportunity for Rishi Sunak at his hastily arranged press conference last night.

He is in the unique position to summon the press, who will note his words. What a shame he didn’t choose words that would signal an end to the toxic political atmosphere that we have been enduring for the past few months.

Mr Sunak stood at the lectern and decried “extremist forces” that, he says, are trying to “tear us apart”.

Some might argue that he and his government have been trying very hard to tear society apart. Prime Minister’s Questions has become a slanging match with no shred of decent asking and answering of questions. It is merely a tournament to see who can land a blow and “win” the session by making the other side look weak.

We have members of parliament spouting antisemitic and Islamophobic comments, some of which are deemed bad enough to be denounced by Downing Street, while others are not. We have MPs repeating conspiracy theories with no consequences, thereby adding fuel to the fire and ratcheting up the tensions and divisions.

The prime minister himself has poured fuel on the fire of the trans debate. Rather than choosing his words sensitively, he challenges the opposition about the definition of a woman – something which can only add to the misery of those subjected to prejudice and abuse.

Mr Sunak would do well to rein in his team. Instead of rolling out the lectern and telling us that we need to watch what we’re saying and doing, he should be having a meeting with his MPs and telling them about acceptable and mature debate that this country desperately needs to hear.

Karen Brittain

York

Just a few hundred Tory MPs appointed Rishi Sunak the prime minister of 68 million people. He is the second consecutive prime minister appointed in this fashion.

His foreign secretary, David Cameron, is not even an MP. He was made Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton last year in order to join Sunak’s cabinet. As a peer he can’t even be held to account by the Commons.

One of Sunak’s first acts as PM was to reappoint Suella Braverman as home secretary. And Sunak backed the then deputy chair of the Conservative Party, Lee Anderson, when he told refugees to “f*** off back to France” last summer.

Sunak’s ministers have also included Robert Jenrick, who ordered the murals of Disney characters on the walls of a centre processing asylum children to be painted over because they were “too welcoming”.

Sunak has carried the Tory “hostile environment” against refugees to new depths. Despite the High Court ruling his plan to deport refugees to Rwanda unlawful, Sunak is prepared to break the law and the UK’s international treaty obligations for it to happen.

Yet on Friday, Sunak dared to make a speech outside 10 Downing Street in which he lectured the public on “democracy”, the rule of law, and the danger of “extremists”.

Sasha Simic

London

Only the extremely rich could consider spending £600m on deporting 300 asylum seekers a good deal. So what else could they do with this paltry sum? I know, let’s ask some public service workers if they have any ideas!

This vanity project should be stopped immediately, preferably via a general election.

Marilyn Timney

Address supplied

Alan Rusbridger is correct that this government has run out of time, and it would be a political saving grace if they could register that fact and call an election as soon as possible.

This factionalised government has boxed itself into an intractable corner, and this beleaguered country now deserves better, because we are all exhausted and demoralised by the current political scene. The world is in such a dangerous and febrile state, but it feels that the government has taken fiddling while Rome burns to a stratospheric level.

I have mentally and physically switched off from Prime Minister’s Questions, as it has become an adversarial slanging match between the two leaders.

We now need persuasive leaders with their finger on the pulse – but if that pulse is failing, let go and allow the nation to decide. That is not to say that Labour will not have a herculean task, but at least there will be fresh minds, and at last the political autonomy to do something concrete about our beleaguered nation and its myriad problems.

Judith A Daniels

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