YP Letters: Drone shows how inept UK has become

From: Brian Buckley, Viking Road, Bridlington.
Should counter-drone equipment have been deployed sooner at Gatwick Airport?Should counter-drone equipment have been deployed sooner at Gatwick Airport?
Should counter-drone equipment have been deployed sooner at Gatwick Airport?

SUCH a demonstration of a kakistocracy has not occurred since our last Prime Minister gambled with this country’s future – why was a simple drone unable to be detected by Gatwick Airport’s internal system? Why was it not able to be traced and why was it not detected by our defence system before it caused such chaos?

I, as should many others, despair at the efficiency and joined up working of our civilian and military forces – how can we believe that we can detect and destroy any airborne attack on our country if we cannot find a supposed drone over Gatwick Airport, let alone say that 3,500 service personnel will be available to help with the Brexit process?

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Scrap all public sales of drones and let’s have a joined up government – a coalition if need be – for our benefit.

From: David Craggs, Shafton Gate, Goldthorpe.

I TOTALLY agree with Geoff North in his letter ‘Why no drone protection?’ (The Yorkshire Post, December 27).

What happened at Gatwick was indeed an absolute shambles. Don’t we have radar systems that can pinpoint these drones? If not, why not? And why weren’t one or more helicopters put in the air with sharp shooters on board instructed to blast the drone out of the sky?

What worries me is that little research may well be being done to study the effect of such a drone entering a plane’s jet engine. I’d like to think that at some research centre drones are being deliberately flown into jet engines to study the effect, but I’m not confident that this is taking place.

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The intake of birds has been known to stop a jet engine and do considerable damage, so why not a drone?

Labour shows
its bigotry

From: Tim Hunter, Farfield Avenue, Knaresborough.

IT doesn’t surprise me that Labour’s misogynistic streak became so evident during Prime Minister’s Questions recently. Jeremy Corbyn’s mask had to drop sometime.

There’s clearly not much sympathy for women in the Labour party – a party which preaches equality, but has, in fact, failed so far to elect a female leader.

In fact, Labour seems committed to putting the rights of transgender women ahead of biological women. I don’t believe that any female Labour MP truly feels they have equal status to their male counterparts.

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Let’s face it, Labour was traditionally the party of bearded Marxists, plotting the fall of capitalism in smoke-filled back rooms. It was also the party of belligerent male trade unionists voting to strike, and then casually calling in at home to tell their wives there will be no money for a few weeks, before they went down to the working man’s club for a skinful of ale with their mates.

These days the smoke-filled back rooms have been replaced with smokeless trendy wine bars, but it’s still the same old, predominantly male activists from the hard left planning class warfare.

Perhaps it’s time for the Labour movement to prove it truly believes in equality by electing a female Jewish leader.

Brexit and
racism

From: Robert Reynolds, Bradford Road, Cleckheaton, Huddersfield.

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TO say the Brexit campaign was not based on racist tendencies is at best fatuous. The debate was dripping with it.

Our world is full of problems. Why is immigration so high when we have high unemployment? Somehow, our own people are not being trained to meet the needs of industry. Government proposals do not address this problem. Worse, they fail to address the implied benefit of leaving the EU – sending the foreigners back!

Our economy is a huge Ponzi scheme that needs more foreigners – not less.

The sole benefit to leaving the EU has not been mentioned – control of the money supply. I wonder why?

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Instead, we get that old vacuous argument about the EU being undemocratic. Er, what exactly is the House of Lords?

Disgrace of elderly care

From: Robert Holman, Marsden Court, Farnley

REGARDING reports on hospital delayed discharges, what a sad disgrace for one of the richest civilised countries in the world.

When we introduced the enviable NHS in 1948, we had beautiful, caring, staffed convalescent hospitals. Then along came these cut-backs with inhumane care for the elderly – people who have spent their lives paying, working for a “better tomorrow”.

I think the well-paid pensioned politicians should hold their heads down in shame and address the jobs they are employed to put right, and not just hide behind “extra funding” promises and no efforts.

Unions are ruining lives

From: M Toft, Windsor Avenue, Silsden.

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THE RMT trade union has been ruining the Saturdays of Northern’s long-suffering customers for what seems an eternity.

To complete the perfect storm for the public in Keighley and district last Saturday, Unite members employed by Transdev walked out. Most of their local services ceased before 18.00 hours. This included my own and as a result I had a three-mile walk home along the canal.

Both unions are flogging a dead horse and not furthering their causes one inch. They are simply causing unnecessary hardship to the travelling public. In some cases, they are causing people to lose income by not being able attend work.