Readers' letters: Boris follows in Trump’s footsteps

I enjoy looking at the US news reports into the incredible Donald Trump – his moves are often an indication that something similar will follow from the incredible Boris Johnson.

The US Department of Justice is investigating Donald Trump’s theft of government documents, classified and unclassified, and storage of same in his Mar-a-Lago resort.

Trump’s legal team demands a ‘Special Master’, a legal individual to look at all the documents, and amazingly a Supreme Court Judge, a Trump appointee, rules this might be possible – the benefit to Trump being delay and distraction.

In the UK, meanwhile a hounded out of office Boris Johnson (hounded out by his own senior colleagues) faces a Commons Privileges Committee investigation on his Partygate lies – he was found to have broken the law.

He hires an eminent QC, Lord Pannick, who files a legal opinion that the Privileges Commons investigation might be ‘unfair’ to Johnson.

Boris doesn’t pay Lord Pannick’s £130,000 fee himself, the taxpayer does that. The Pannick opinion is covered in national media as if it were an official report, when it is in fact a very dubious use of public money to defend someone who has broken the law.

In the US, with Trump, they are cautious but tough, saying ‘If you want a Special Master you should pay for it yourself.’

Trump is also running out of lawyers, because more of them are becoming wary of defending him. They worry about losing their license to practise.

In the UK, Lord Pannick has no such worries that Johnson might be a liar or criminal. No chance the Pannock reputation would be damaged by being onside with the ex-PM.

We are all gentlemen over here.

Crawford Mackie, Edinburgh.

BBC at its best on Queen coverage

The BBC coverage of the death of the late Queen and its immediate aftermath was and continues to be superb.

The Corporation has a much-deserved world-wide reputation for being unbeatable on this kind of occasion and once again it has excelled itself among all the broadcast media, with exactly the right amount of gravitas and light touch when the moment suited.

Having spent the bulk of my working life overseas in several countries, both East and West, I can say without hesitation that the Beeb is by far the best I have ever seen and the licence fee is in my opinion well worth it.

My only qualification would be is that in Scotland I feel they tend to kow-tow too much to the nationalists, perhaps intimidated by the ugly scenes at the orchestrated demonstration outside their HQ in Glasgow some years ago.

Perhaps the nationalists do not like the ‘’British’’ in their title.

Alexander McKay, Edinburgh.

Replace bearskin caps with faux fur

We remember Queen Elizabeth II for evolving with the times and, although there had been no stigma attached to wearing fur when she rose to the throne, choosing kindness over cruelty in recent years by banishing fur from her wardrobe.

The Queen lived a life in service to British values, and PETA is respectfully requesting that the Ministry of Defence honour her legacy by replacing the bears’ fur used to make the royal guards’ caps with faux fur fit for the 21st century monarch of an animal-loving nation.

In this period of transition, a changing of the King’s Guard’s caps would spare these magnificent animals’ lives and represent the continued evolution of our modern monarchy.

Ingrid Newkirk, PETA Foundation, London.

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