Times letters: Personal beliefs and contempt for the law

Sir, Daniel Finkelstein raises some important and interesting questions in his piece on the case of Dr Sarah Benn (“Contempt for the law shows contempt for us all”, May 1). It seems problematic to argue, as he appears to, that Dr Benn should suffer professional consequences for her protest. She has been penalised through the criminal law. It is not at all clear why she should also be suspended and/or struck off. The consequences of such an assertion would privilege certain groups or those in certain occupations which, to pick up another theme in his article, has obvious implications for the rule of law’s guarantee of equality. Similarly, I am not at all sure that at a time when the NHS is suffering a recruitment crisis the message to would-be doctors is: “Oh, by all means protest peacefully in your own time, but if you break the law, you will be struck off.”
David Mead
Professor of UK human rights law, University of East Anglia

Sir, Daniel Finkelstein is correct that those who deliberately break the law to advance a cause that appears to them to be just cannot complain when they suffer a penalty. The basic principle of civil disobedience, as stated by Mahatma Gandhi, is that if you defy laws, you must “suffer the penalty for their breach”. You can then argue for changes in the law. A society governed by the rule of law cannot tolerate an assertion that “it’s not my law” any more than it can tolerate an assertion that “it’s not my truth”.
Lord Pannick KC
Blackstone Chambers, Temple

Sir, Daniel Finkelstein expects his doctors to respect the rule of law: so do I, but I care more about their medical expertise, not whether their conscience leads them to believe that their cause justifies violations of the law. History suggests that votes for women would not have been achieved in 1928 without such action or that changes in the law on homosexuality would have occurred when they did without supporters such as Peter Tatchell being prepared to break laws that discriminated against gays.
Bill Jones
Honorary professor of political studies, Liverpool Hope University

Sir, Daniel Finkelstein says: “To have contempt for the court is to have contempt for all of us. And I do not want a doctor who shows me contempt.” The problem with his argument is that the law is a wide and complex set of rules, which at times are not as clear cut as he makes out. Indeed many of our MPs have broken laws, which have not resulted in their suspension from parliament. There are of course serious laws and lines that can and should not be crossed, ones that clearly hamper a person’s ability in their role or call into question their trustworthiness. But protest is probably not one of them.
The public have every right to be protected from law-breakers when they see a doctor, but it is unlikely that they would be fazed by seeing one that has broken a law that does not affect their clinical judgment or trustworthiness.
Dr Steve Taylor GP
Manchester

Sir, I agree with Daniel Finkelstein. The principle of “governed by law not people” is vitally important. On too many recent occasions the government has shown an unhealthy disregard of the law; to disregard the law is to disregard democracy.
Christopher Patridge
March, Cambs

Kate Forbes’s suitability as SNP leader

Sir, Kenny Farquharson normally writes such good sense but appears to have taken a day off (“Whoever leads Scotland next, it can’t be Kate”, May 1). John Swinney would be the continuity candidate of all time. Does Scotland really need more of the same now that Sturgeon’s legacy has been fully exposed? Unlike most of her colleagues, Kate Forbes shows an interest in getting the Scottish economy going. If, as first minister, she managed that the rest would follow. Then perhaps the few extra per cent of the population needed to win the next referendum would trust the SNP to run an independent country.
David Windmill
Edinburgh

Sir, Kenny Farquharson has a very interesting approach to diversity. He is much enthused by the fact that we have political leaders in Holyrood, Cardiff and Westminster who reflect a spread of religion and ethnicity but he abhors the prospect of a Christian first minister in Scotland. He would do well to reflect on the widely acknowledged extent to which the Christian faith, with its commitment to the worth of every individual, has been the primary source of the human rights-based political environment within which we function, and which, in turn, underpins the diversity he so greatly (if somewhat arbitrarily) values.
Morgan Jamieson
Newton Mearns, Glasgow

Sir, Magnus Linklater concludes his article (“Scottish politics doesn’t have to be like this”, Apr 30) by saying “it is the Scottish political system itself that is at stake. It is one worth fighting for.” I disagree. It is time to disband the Scottish parliament, which has been a complete waste of taxpayers’ money since its inception. The Westminster model is far from perfect but it is preferable to the bunch of incompetents we have had to tolerate in Scotland for far too long. How we go about doing this is another matter.
Fiona Stewart
Glasgow

Defence of free speech

Sir, We were dismayed to learn that Dr Nathan Cofnas, a researcher at Cambridge University’s Faculty of Philosophy and a research associate at Emmanuel College, is to be expelled from the college and is the subject of investigations by the faculty and the Leverhulme Trust on the grounds that he made controversial comments about race and academic ability (“Cambridge in free-speech row over researcher’s ‘race realism’ blog”, Apr 19). Cambridge University’s initial response seems to us to have been completely correct. Professor Bhaskar Vira, pro-vice-chancellor for education, issued a statement that began: “Freedom of speech within the law is a right that sits at the heart of the University of Cambridge. We encourage our community to challenge ideas they disagree with and engage in rigorous debate.” Given this, we do not understand why the philosophy faculty is conducting an investigation. Members of the college or university who disagree with Dr Cofnas’s views could issue statements repudiating those views and explaining why they believe them to be mistaken.

We urge Emmanuel College to reverse its decision and the Faculty of Philosophy and the Leverhulme Trust to call off their investigations. There is nothing to investigate. This should not need to be said, but given the present climate we would like to add that signing this letter does not indicate endorsement of Dr Cofnas’s views.

Roger Crisp, Oxford University; Sir Partha Dasgupta, Cambridge University; Marie Daouda, Oxford University; Paul Elbourne, Oxford University; Jonathan Glover, KCL; Coleman Hughes, author; Matthew Kramer, Cambridge University; Brian Leiter, Chicago University; Jeff McMahan, Oxford University; Francesca Minerva, Milan University; Steven Pinker, Harvard University; Robert Plomin, KCL; Peter Singer, Princeton University; Amia Srinivasan, Oxford University

Graduate visa cull

Sir, Further to your report “PM seeks to shut graduate visa ‘back door’ for asylum claims” (Apr 30), where there are abuses of the system, our universities will take swift appropriate action. But a sharp cut in international students would damage the economy by excluding global talent. International students boost businesses and local communities, underpin the provision of high-level education and skills for home students, and enable universities to invest in research and development. If the government’s own analysis is correct, the graduate visa route will bring in nearly twice as much tax revenue as it costs the public purse.
Dr Tim Bradshaw
CEO, Russell Group

End-of-life care

Sir, The campaign for assisted dying is a missed opportunity to talk about fixing our social care and palliative care systems so that proper end-of-life care with appropriate pain relief is available for all. It is to be hoped that others follow Alice Thomson’s lead (Comment, May 1) and change their minds.
Canon Dr Chris Sugden
Oxford

Mind of a mouse

Sir, Douglas Adams was way ahead of your leader writer (“Of Mice and Men”, May 1) and the researchers at John Hopkins University (“Cunning lab rodents take the mickey”, May 1). In The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the mice Frankie and Benjy are hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional beings who run experiments on mankind, occasionally going down the wrong leg of a maze to confuse the scientists. I am grateful that my own research does not involve rodents of any kind. Beware Vogons!
Dr David Nickson
Chipping Norton, Oxon

Terrifically trite

Sir, Alas, All Things Bright and Beautiful (letters, Apr 30 & May 1) is now almost mandatory at baptisms, not just weddings and funerals. Grasping the nettle, I add sound effects to the accompaniment: little birds tweeting, rivers running by and colds wind blowing, for example. Some find these devices either charming enhancements or cheap embellishments underlining the triteness of this hymn. Job done!
Simon Eadon
Organist, St Andrew’s Church, Yetminster, Dorset

Sir, Lord Lisvane should be congratulated for his skilful assassination of the achingly dull hymn All Things Bright and Beautiful. But I would also beg him to consider adding the insufferable Lord of the Dance to his hit list. Too many young ears have been tortured over the years: enough is enough.
The Rev Al Gordon
Rector of Hackney, London E8

Sir, I congratulate Lord Lisvane on his success rate persuading couples out of All Things Bright and Beautiful at their weddings. I once, after a lot of effort, had a similar success against I Vow to Thee My Country (totally inappropriate, if you read the words). I couldn’t argue, then, with their replacement choice: All Things Bright and Beautiful . . .
The Rev Annabelle Elletson
Crickhowell, Powys

Hard loss to digest

Sir, I was sad to read of the closure of Readers Digest UK (Apr 30). Not only did I enjoy reading it as a young man but I used it when lecturing in business to classes of students aged 16 to 19. Many of them had started their education overseas in a variety of countries and had English as a second language; the Readers Digest articles and stories were short, easy reading. I also found that a copy of the Children’s Thesaurus was invaluable. The students loved the book but refused to use it until I covered it with a plain cover, hiding the title. A useful lesson, perhaps, for publishers of books teaching English as a second language.
Hugh Hutchison
London W13

Shardlake’s revenge

Sir, I was saddened to learn that CJ Sansom has died (obituary, Apr 30). One of his books almost had me arrested at Delhi airport in 2014. I had a copy of his latest book, Lamentation, a weighty tome perfect for a long flight back to the UK. Airport security got very excited about it, mistaking it for a medieval religious tract. I was taken away and questioned despite my protestations that it was a novel. I was finally told to go but it was a sobering experience.
Andrea Hughes
Siddington, Glos

Hard-boiled advice

Sir, Further to the subject of struggling chefs (letters, Apr 29 & May 1), while I was staying at a Premier Inn a few years ago my partner asked for a hard-boiled egg at breakfast. It came but was very runny, so she asked for another, which was also runny (albeit less so), so finally she said: “Just boil one for eight minutes please.” It was fine.
Don Allen
Winchester