YP Letters: Stop sending British money to foreigners

THERE have been daily revelations about how Department for International Development has mismanaged our controversial foreign aid budget voted by our wealthy politicians at 0.7 per cent of GDP.

It turns out that over many years the department responsible for the management has operated a very cosy relationship with the companies and organisations supposedly delivering this aid.

It has been reported that Britain is “dumping” billions of pounds in overseas aid money into obscure World Bank trust funds in an apparent attempt to meet the country’s controversial annual target. Much of this money never leaves the World Bank and they charged you and me, the taxpayer, £241m to administer it over the last five years alone. How many food banks could we close with that kind of money?

How many struggling families could be helped out of their difficult situations with some of the billions left sitting in a bank vault by our governments?

This month it was revealed that DfID’s spending on consultancy services had doubled to £1bn a year. A one page blog was charged at £10,000 by one contractor, an obscene use of our money.

Wake up Britain.

From: Peter Hyde, Driffield.

WHY are the mandarins of Whitehall who run the overseas aid department allowed such free rein with our hard-earned cash?

Billions are spent on so 
called foreign aid that are either used for fanciful schemes or 
just stolen by corrupt governments.

Although this is common knowledge, it is allowed to continue. Why? Our own country is suffering due to underfunding – police, NHS, immigration services and local councils are struggling and yet there seems to be a remarkable lack of common sense by the Government to right a woefully wrong situation.Have we a Minister who could challenge the status quo?

From: Raymond Knight, Broadway, Newport, Shopshire.

WHEN the country voted to leave the EU, voters were telling politicians that there was to be no more immigration from any country, no more asylum seekers and those who had failed were to be returned. Obey the wishes of the country or face the consequences.

Sport threat to our hares

From: Paul Chapman, Richmond.

I FEEL I have to put pen to paper to inform a large part of the public, particularly urban dwellers, of the fate of the much loved brown hare, of which numbers have massively dropped locally in North Yorkshire over the past 20 
years.

It is not, as public bodies claim, due to farming practices, but because these beautiful creatures are hunted mercilessly in the name of ‘sport’ by groups of criminals with hunting dogs, either by day or by night.

I regularly watch over about three hunted acres of arable land and was delighted to find after this year’s harvest that we had eight to 10 hares living here. Now all I find are ravaged carcasses.

I have walked this same area of land and not seen a single 
hare and looking around other areas, the story appears to be the same.

I just write to inform the public of these violent deaths, in the vain hope that something more might be done to control these people before the beloved brown hare is

no more.

Thanks for bus kindness

From: Hilary Andrews, Nursery Lane, Leeds.

I HAD a freak accident earlier this month after the transmission on my car went wrong.

The car drove into a neighbour’s brick garage 
wall which fell on the car 
bonnet.

I was terrified as I was still inside the car. In the event, I was able to crawl out and sustained only severe bruising to my upper and lower limbs and a bruised head. The car is a write off.

I have been most touched by the kindness of all the bus drivers who took great care to make sure their buses were kept quite still so that I was slowly able to limp on and off without any jolting. The spirit of goodwill to all men (and old ladies) is alive and well. Thank you First Bus.

Council must be removed

From: DS Boyes, Upper Rodley Lane, Leeds.

AN important principle for those holding public office is that their personal conduct be beyond reproach. Yet, sadly, this is not the case at Leeds City Council which challenged a ruling compelling it to identify four councillors who have not paid their council tax before backing down (The Yorkshire Post, December 24). With the Labour administration of our city so obviously unfit for purpose, it is time for H.M. Government to intervene by suspending it and sending commissioners in to take over, as happened in Rotherham.

Stop flood of news trivia

From: Edward Grainger, Botary Way, Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough.

YOU can always rely on parts of the British newspaper media to dwell on the ‘tedious’ and ‘trivia’, like Theresa May’s trousers, at a time when the events in Aleppo and the Yemen are far too serious to ignore, not to mention our Brexit negotiations.

Get real you newspaper people and let us have the real news not what you think will appeal to the worst aspects of human nature. We are far more discerning than you give us credit for.