Cleansing of Metropolitan police urged

AS a long-time retired police officer who served in three Yorkshire forces I am utterly disgusted at the habit of some in the Metropolitan Police of accepting money for information. The whole lot want cleansinng from top to bottom.

It gives an appearance of senior officers dining out at the expense of the very people they are investigating and then expecting the public to believe that nothing improper was discussed. And why was the review of the phone hacking evidence initially curtailed by John Yates?

There may well have been a good reason for him to do so but any sensible person has to have doubts about the matter. The integrity of the Met, as well as that of Parliament, has been sullied beyond repair and only a serious investigation by an independent and experienced group of investigators can hope to restore any hope of faith in the system.

From: Mike Andrews, Cheviot Way, Upper Hopton.

NO right-minded person would wish to defend or excuse in any way the excesses seemingly involved in the recent phone hacking scandal.

However, is it not remarkable to note the unaccustomed speed and vigour displayed by our political masters in attacking all and sundry involved? I think I detect here more than a touch of what the Germans call schadenfruede, defined as taking delight in the misfortunes of others.

Moreover, one wonders whether the zeal shown by Parliament is connected in any way with a desire to deflect public opprobrium away from its own shabby record in the matter of expenses and on to other targets; the Press, police and others.

Valid criticism and even condemnation may well prove to be appropriate, but the whiff of revenge and the settling of old scores has no place in the search for the truth. I think it is time for the honourable members to cool the feeding frenzy and allow the relevant commissions to pursue a justice which is calm, balanced, unprejudiced and objective.

Headingley ‘issues’

From: Richard Kaye, sales director, Yorkshire County Cricket Club.

THE England v Sri Lanka one-day international saw Headingley Cricket Ground in great shape. However, as highlighted (Yorkshire Post, July 9) we recognise there were issues during the day.

We strive to ensure all supporters enjoy their experience and we fully recognise that the service provided in some areas on July 1 could be improved upon.

The length of queues on entering the ground: We have to strike a balance between security and providing swift access to the ground. Although all the available turnstiles were open for admissions from 9am a significant number of spectators arrived between 10am and 10.30am which caused delays. In accordance with ECB protocols, all spectators were searched and checked for prohibited items. Additional actions were introduced on the day to try and ensure improved access to the ground, including using extra turnstiles on the rugby ground, but we know that the time taken by many spectators to enter the ground was longer than was desirable.

Our admission procedures will be reviewed, as is the case following every international match we stage and the club will endeavour to introduce improvements, including asking supporters to arrive early to minimise congestion.

The length of the bar closures: This decision was taken by the police and not by the club. Planning for the match envisaged a bar closure of one hour after the interval between the innings. However, the police and ground safety officer felt the bars should close prior to the interval and for longer than one hour, following reports that alcohol consumption had been greater than usual. This decision was taken in the interests of public order and to help minimise crowd misbehaviour. In this respect it would appear to have been successful as there were no arrests and only nine people were ejected.

We understand that the bar closure frustrated many people, especially during the lunch interval. The club acknowledges that details of the bar closure could have been better communicated to spectators and the club will continue to work with all parties to ensure that public order is maintained while people enjoy the cricket.

The length of time in order to be served at the bars: With reference to Simon Riordan’s comments regarding bar queues, we can confirm that all the available bar facilities were open and were staffed as normal for an international match. The bars are managed by a third party concession holder and they decide staffing levels but it does appear that the queues were unusually long. The club will be holding a de-briefing with the concession holder and we expect a variety of measures will be considered for future major matches to help to reduce queues, such as introducing extra small sales outlets for bottled beer and soft drinks.

‘Spiritually bankrupt’

From: Gloria S. Simons, lecturer in Fine Art at Leeds College of Art, 1975-1997.

REGARDING the Artist Rooms at Leeds Art Gallery (Yorkshire Post, July 8), artist and entrepreneur Damien Hirst puts the “i” in irreverent, irrelevant and insensitive. Although the richest artist in Britain, he is the most spiritually bankrupt.

As he metaphorically dances on the graves of helpless animals and humans alike, the cash flows like rain.

His butterflies piece has a chilling beauty and iridescence presented under glass, in the form of a mandala using real rare butterflies; the only difference being that his universe is one of death and not transcendental life. Anyway, the Victorians were masters of macabre insect decoration so there is nothing new there.

The photograph of Hirst as a young man shows him grinning inanely next to a real severed human head which sadly presents a look of compliant surrender.

The famous lamb, with its pathetic expression, is submerged in formaldehyde in a Perspex case; having given its life to embellish Hirst’s tarnished star.

The large all white marble statue of an angel has pieces carved away, leaving exposed internal organs and a semi-exposed skull. Surrealism no longer shocks so what is his point?

On a lighter note, the paintings were like a decorator’s colour chart, pleasant and inoffensive enough. Isn’t it about time that Mr Hirst realised that death is not sexy?