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Letters: the joy of a male book club

The state of our defence Sir: Your article on the etiolated state of European, including Britain’s, defence, is spot on (‘The price of peace’, 27 April). Rishi Sunak’s belated conversion to increasing defence expenditure is welcome but is, frankly, too little, too late. What it most definitively does not do is place the UK on a

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How many people are attacked by sharks? 

Horse trials Five Household Cavalry horses bolted in central London, with two reaching Limehouse before being calmed down. It may have been a shocking sight in the 21st century but it would have been ordinary life in the 19th century. – By the 1890s there were 300,000 horses in London. It was not uncommon for them

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Why Sunak should stay

In the end, the Tories did just as badly as predicted in the local elections. They lost about half of the council seats they were defending as well as ten out of the 11 mayoralties up for election and did not even come close in London. It’s a disaster, but one consistent with the opinion

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2649: Shut up shop - solution

The unclued lights, with the pairs at 1D/18, 17/6A and 26D/5, are stores which are no longer trading. First prize George Kingston, Sutton under Brailes, Oxon Runners-up Mrs J. Smith, Beeston, Kings Lynn, Norfolk; C. Stafford and F. Daniels, Cremorne, NSW, Australia

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Letters: the admirable strength of Ukrainians

The bravery of Ukraine Sir: Few articles could resonate as strongly as that of Svitlana Morenets (‘Scrambled logic’, 20 April). She brings the agony of her brave countrymen and women home to us, and the effect of dithering and equivocation by the West. As a volunteer with a refugee charity, I weekly admire the character

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2648: Thus at an end – solution

The eight unclued lights are all kinds of soup: COCK-A-LEEKIE (1A), SHCHI (21A) , PHO (40A), VICHYSSOISE (41A), CONSOMME (2D), MULLIGATAWNY (14D), MINESTRONE (19D) and PISTOU (25D). The puzzle’s title cryptically indicates the subject: ‘thus’ = SO, ‘at an end’= UP. First prize Tessa Ferguson, Bath Runners-up William Orriel, Newton Abbot, Devon; Gerry Fairweather, Layer Marney,

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The cost of European peace

After six months of delay, the US Senate has finally passed a $60 billion foreign-aid package which will send urgently needed ammunition and military equipment to Ukrainian soldiers. It may well be the last such cheque to be signed in Washington. Donald Trump is favourite to be the next president of the United States and

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The Spectator’s letters page is hazardous 

Question time Sir: Your leading article ‘Sense prevails’ (13 April) is a valuable précis of the Cass Review into NHS gender treatment. However, it also raises several questions. How are the actions of these individuals, groups and organisations different from those of others who have been found to have acted unprofessionally, causing harm to patients

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When was the world’s first drone attack?

Attack of the drones The world’s earliest drone attack goes back further than you might think. On 12 July 1849 the Austrian military launched unmanned balloons over Venice, which they hoped to recapture after the city had declared itself a republic the year before. Suspended beneath each of the balloons were bombs containing up to