Don’s comments on NATO go beyond the pale - your letters, plus a 1994 picture throwback of a car in a spot of bother

Upset by ​Don’s childish bursts

I can put up with most of the Don's childish outbursts but I'm afraid this one is beyond the pale.

We have a man who for various reasons managed to avoid the Vietnam draft, making his Parthian shot on leaving Europe (after being refused his ridiculous demands) the claim that ‘NATO troops shied away from the front lines’ in Afghanistan.

Ignoring the fact that it was not actually a NATO driven conflict, this is a grave slur against UK in particular and other NATO forces in general. Might I point out that 452 of our brave fighting men and women lost their lives in an ill planned war in Afghanistan together with 52 Danish troops. UK and others also had the USAs back in the two recent desert campaigns, We have hundreds of injured veterans as a result of these wars which in the end have merely resulted in endangering the West.

I guess the usual Don apologists will tell me that as ever this manchild outburst is all part of Don's genius and that the likes of simple folk like myself will never understand the brilliance of his cunning

I guess there might also be a reason in that the Don has little grasp of either geography or history and possibly thinks that Helmand Province (possibly one of the most dangerous theatres in the war) is a mustard growing region of France.

Amazingly, Keir did not crawl on this occasion by hey I guess he may kiss and make up, maybe award the Don a honorary Victoria Cross?

AM Etheridge, Midlands

Back to our bumpy roads

We moved to the Lake District seven months ago and where pleasantly surprised by the quality of the roads. The A66 is extremely busy every day and although not perfect the state of the roads is good.

We were back in the Dudley area at the weekend and I was shocked and dismayed at the many dangerous potholes and badly broken up roads. Where is all this extra money the government have supposedly put into repairing them? I got very despondent mile after mile of very bad roads. The roads have gone too far and we are in for years of bad experiences on our roads, especially in the Midlands.

Chris Martin, Workington

Best to have Burnham inside

Whoops! Methinks Sir Keir Starmer has dropped a biggy blocking Andy Burham's return as an MP. As President Lydon B Johnson once said of a political foe, J Edgar Hoover, "Well, it's probably better to have him inside the tent p---ing out, than have him outside p---ing in." Sounds very sensible.

Peter Steggles, Rushbury

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