Theresa May played a part in telling immigrants to ‘go home’ long before Trump did

I abhor Donald Trump’s latest racist rants. It’s all very well for Theresa May to decry his latest ravings in her speech on the state of politics, but has she forgotten that she, as home secretary, instigated the heinous vans plastered with “go home” messages aimed at our welcome incomers?

This woman must be the worst home secretary we have ever had. She was pernicious and has single-handedly facilitated the European Research Group and Brexit factions with their reasons to scupper a reasonable exit from the EU.

I won’t be sorry to see her go but I worry, greatly, about her apparent successor.

Fiona Coombes
Clitheroe

If that “principled anti-racist” (Letters, 17 July) Jeremy Corbyn is such a paragon of virtue perhaps Sasha Simic might care to answer why it is that the Labour Party he leads is now the subject of an investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission?

Gesture politics is all very well, but anyone can turn down an invitation to a state banquet.

No one with an ounce of compassion would condone May’s abhorrent record on immigration policy, but until Corbyn matches fine words with decisive actions (not just processes), even if it means ditching long-standing friends and allies, then claims by him and on his behalf of his devotion to the cause of anti-racism will ring increasingly hollow.

Robin J Bulow
Deal

I gather that yesterday, in his article for the Telegraph, Jacob Rees-Mogg wrote that there are economic models that predict a boost to the economy of £80bn in the event of a no-deal Brexit. These models wouldn’t be model buses would they?

David Hill
Elsenham

Munjed Farid Al Qutob (Letters, 17 July) appears to be a frequent correspondent, but in the week that we celebrate mankind's greatest achievement, the first moon landing, I am amazed that you would give prominence in your letters page to his rather incoherent suggestion that the Apollo 11 mission was an early example of "fake news".

Given his humanitarian concerns, he is of course perfectly entitled to challenge whether the billions of dollars could have been better spent, but to conflate this with a frequently debunked fringe conspiracy theory is totally unwarranted.

Perhaps he would do better to direct his challenge to the similarly vast sums expended in prosecuting the Vietnam war at the same time, although one simple answer to the question "how did that benefit humanity?" is that both the space programme and Vietnam were ultimately responsible for ridding the world of Soviet communism.

Ian McBain
Loughton

I grew up on benefits, lived in council accommodation and went to one of the largest comprehensive schools in Birmingham. Since then I have had a successful career at the Bar.

The Inns of Court provide essential scholarships and education to people wishing to pursue a career at the Bar. These institutions are governed by "Masters of the Bench" many of whom were privately educated and went to Oxbridge. This is one area of the Law that seems impervious to social mobility. There is no point in reaching out if you do not let people reach up. Therefore, if there is to be any hope of equality in the Law the Inns need to ensure that their recruitment of Benchers is more open and inclusive.

James Keeley
London WC1R