Letters | 8 August 2019

We don’t cut God

Sir: The Revd Dr Peter Mullen suggests (Letters, 3 August) that Boris Johnson told him my BBC Great Lives programme had cut from our broadcast treatment of Samuel Johnson an extended discussion of Christianity’s role in Dr Johnson’s life. Boris J championed Samuel J for our programme, and your correspondent has been persuaded that Mr J argued at length the centrality of religion to the great lexicographer.

I am fascinated by religion. My producers would not relegate a person’s faith where it was claimed as central to their greatness. I seem to remember Mr J did say that Dr J’s faith was important to him, and that does appear to be so, but this was commonplace at the time, and if there was anything notable about Samuel Johnson’s personal beliefs it was his strong dislike of religiosity and zealotry. I myself read him as more concerned with morality than spirituality.

Boris Johnson proved a sparkling, energetic and erudite champion of his namesake and this made for a wonderful discussion; but if he had wished to place God at the centre of his hero’s life, I cannot think we would removed Him. More likely our (now) Prime Minister misremembered, or your correspondent misunderstood him.
Matthew Parris

Bakewell, Derbyshire

Scotland’s failing schools

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Rod Liddle

Sack the judges

Sir: As Toby Young reported (No sacred cows, 16 July), the Scottish education system now ranks third among UK nations and achieves only average performance in international terms, as measured by the Pisa programme. The annual Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy detailed a sharp decline at all levels in school. The response of the SNP government to this state of affairs? To remove Scotland from the Pisa programme and discontinue the survey.

Compared with England, less than half the percentage of children from disadvantaged backgrounds attend university. This shocking statistic belies the Scottish government’s professed commitment to social justice.