Ministers were ill-prepared for virus; now they should admit failings

Are there sufficient supplies of face masks if they're to be made compulsory?Are there sufficient supplies of face masks if they're to be made compulsory?
Are there sufficient supplies of face masks if they're to be made compulsory?
From: Peter Asquith-Cowen, First Lane, Anlaby, Near Beverley.

IT has amazed me how ill-prepared the Government has been in facing the coronavirus pandemic.

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Since the 1950s, billions has been poured into preparing for a nuclear war with the Soviet Union.

However, as far as I know, there was never any contingency plans drawn up to deal with a major pandemic such as that we are now facing. History has taught us that, from time-to-time, humanity is hit with major pandemics.

French President Emmanuel Macron wears a protective face mask as he speaks with schoolchildren during a class as he visits the Pierre Ronsard elementary school.French President Emmanuel Macron wears a protective face mask as he speaks with schoolchildren during a class as he visits the Pierre Ronsard elementary school.
French President Emmanuel Macron wears a protective face mask as he speaks with schoolchildren during a class as he visits the Pierre Ronsard elementary school.

We also have a long way to go before we see any light at the end of the tunnel.

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While the Government sends mixed messages and the press often get confused information, the public don’t know what to do. What if we are all “told” to wear face masks? Is this an order? An instruction?A dictat?

Where are we to purchase face masks? Oh yes, on the internet. Many old people don’t have a clue about this and some parts of Britain are still unconnected. Many people don’t know how to do anything online. This is the organised chaos we are facing with muddled thinking, poor leadership and many mixed and often contradictory messages. Is there any wonder the public are breaking lockdown rules?

From: Roger Backhouse, Orchard Road, Upper Poppleton, York.

Supplies of PPE to care homes remains a recurring issue.Supplies of PPE to care homes remains a recurring issue.
Supplies of PPE to care homes remains a recurring issue.

LIKE several Conservative MPs, Imran Ahmad Khan (The Yorkshire Post, May 1) points out dangers of relying on Chinese supply chains. I agree but his view comes too late.

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For 40 years the prevailing political dogma was “free markets” and buying in the cheapest place, though it destroyed our home industries.

This, coupled with the over valued pound under Margaret Thatcher and for a time under Tony Blair, did enormous damage to British manufacturing.

More recently Chinese firms have quietly bought up British companies without protest from Conservative MPs, even a firm as significant as British Steel. Ministers like George Osborne were notably pro-Chinese and ideas like Heathrow expansion touted as a way of “opening Britain for business” to develop more links with China. Let’s hope that gets dropped soon.

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Britain deserves a sound manufacturing base, but it will be tough to restore a fraction of what there once was. It needs a complete rethinking of attitudes within the Conservative Party, and acceptance that we cannot always buy the cheapest goods. I doubt they are up to the job.

Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

Almost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.

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And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help.

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Sincerely. Thank you.

James Mitchinson

Editor

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