If George Osborne is right, and the drop in inflation to 0.3% is a measure of success (UK inflation reaches record low of 0.3%, 17 February), surely he must write a new letter of direction to Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England. The government’s requirement is that the Bank should aim for a 2% inflation rate. Either the existing direction to the governor is right or George Osborne is wrong.
It cannot be both.
David Blunkett MP
Labour, Sheffield Brightside
• A new leaflet advertising the HSBC Advance account is headed: “To succeed in life you need some powerful allies.” How very true (Report, 16 February).
Bob Bird
Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire
• With regard to tax-dodging, I am 77 and do self-assessment. This year I owe 30p and HMRC has sent two letters telling me that it will reduce my personal allowance by £1. Clearly, while HMRC is coping with my complicated tax affairs, it will not have the resources to challenge HSBC.
George Jeffery
Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan
• Some years ago, a colleague heard the following public this announcement as he stood on a crowded tube platform at Paddington: “We apologise for the delays on the Circle line this morning. This is due to one of your fellow passengers masturbating on a train.”
It was obviously quite a few years ago; note the reference to “passengers” (King for a day, 14 February).
Keith Owen
Exeter
• In Hampshire business is booming: they’re making money Andover fist; while along the coast it’s a case of more Hastings, less speed (Letters, 17 February).
David Carter
Allendale, Northumberland
• We shouldn’t be alarmed about the prospect of the virtual courtroom (Top judge backs call for online courts ...”, 16 February), as Lord Dyson says, it has enormous potential. The next phase could be an app called InstaCourt; a judge would tweet the salient points of a case in 140 characters (Top judge backs call for online courts, 16 February). Twelve members of the public could be contacted at random and they would simply text 0 for guilty and 1 for not guilty. Job done on a majority verdict. Think of the savings in time and money!
David Smethurst
Quenington, Gloucestershire
