Madam,

Thank goodness there are still some Tory MPs that still understand when something is simply wrong. Sadly our MP Mark Garnier (nor our PM) could be counted amongst them. The rules on MPs and paid lobbying are clear. The 250 MPs that blindly obeyed Boris Johnson and the whip have brought shame on Parliament and should be eternally grateful to those who opposed them and forced the government into a humiliating U turn.

Brian Jordan.

Madam

Mark Garnier states correctly in his Opinion column: “Climate change is leading the news. And so it should”.

Sadly, however, there has been little mention in relation to COP26 of one of major causes of the climate crisis that all of us can do something about.This elephant, or perhaps I should say cow, in the room is our consumption of meat and other animal products.

It has been estimated that as much as a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions are caused by animal agriculture.

And, according to a paper published by the Climate Healers organisation, this rises to 87% when account is taken of the amount of carbon that could be taken out of the atmosphere by the reforesting of land currently used for the purposes of farming animals.

In addition, research carried out at the University of Oxford in 2018 showed that adopting a vegan diet is the single biggest way to reduce our impact on the planet.

More information on how we could all eat to protect the Earth can be found on the Vegan Society’s “Plate Up for the Planet” website at plateupfortheplanet.org

Hector Roux

Madam

I read the farcical activities of the West Mercia Police, who apparently cannot be under staffed and overworked having despatched 3 officers to arrest a sick old man for mooning. With all the issues that Police should be dealing with, someone showing their arse must come pretty far down the list of urgent activities. Apparently not.

Watching the local news, they report that 6 officers were in attendance. Is this what my hard earned rates are wasted upon? Really? There is NO appropriate amount of force required for a case such as this. Just how much force is required to arrest an overweight, terminally ill old man??  Perhaps a grown up Policeman having a chat with the chap, understanding his situation, and issuing with a warning and wishing him well with his battle against multiple illness. That is what I pay for - even handed policing of the community that they police by CONSENT.

• Reassuring West Mercia's communities - Making sure communities not only are safe, but feel safe too. Ensuring people have faith in their police and their PCC and creating more opportunities for active citizenship - giving people the chance to identify and tackle the issues that matter most to them.

Pretty sure you’ve failed on this one. Not sure I feel safe at all if the management of West Mercia allocate 6 officers to deal with someone mooning. Maybe they could chuck in some other charges like resisting arrest, assaulting an officer etc to make it at least reasonable to send 6 people round. Turning up when people are burgled rather than just giving a crime number might be of more use.

• Reforming West Mercia - Transforming the police force through a necessary programme of modernisation. Giving hard-working officers the tools and processes they need to do their jobs more effectively and efficiently, securing the best possible value for public money.

Pretty sure this one is a quack quack oops too. Perhaps some training in how to handle the public - not physically as they seem to believe is appropriate - but to act proportionally and listen to members of the public before putting the boot in. Value for public money - a definite failure here.

• Creating a more secure West Mercia - reducing harm and increasing safety, particularly for our most vulnerable people. Working with police and partners to understand and tackle the roots of crime, improving community cohesion and being more responsive to emerging threats.

Well this one has definitely been missed by a mile or so - or perhaps 6 miles. There is at least one person in West Mercia who does not feel safe, was vulnerable and is more so now. And as for community cohesion, I for one would certainly not come to the aide of police officers getting a beating because their belligerence probably caused it in the first place.

I was most distressed and annoyed watching the video on the local news and let me make my expectations clear - as the crime commissioner I expect you to take the Chief Constable to task over this and to get him to issue an apology both to Mr Meekcom and the rest of the residents of Worcestershire for this dreadful episode. And your own position will be helped within the community if you make public comment on this and make it known this is not how you expect the West Mercia force to behave.

Paul T Rowley