The Spectator

Letters: Boris Johnson’s doublespeak over Ukraine

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issue 23 September 2023

Whose victory?

Sir: Politicians are often accused of engaging in doublespeak, and I fear in the case of Boris Johnson’s article (‘Bombshell’, 16 September) the accusation may be valid. According to our former prime minister we’re to believe two contradictory assertions; firstly that a Russian victory risks an immediate and existential threat not only to Russia’s neighbours but to the broader West. Then secondly, that the victory of the Ukrainian armed forces is as inevitable as night following day.

Those two positions cannot both be true – either the outcome of the war is still in the balance, or Ukrainian victory is assured. I fear a degree of romanticism has crept into what I hoped would be a dispassionate analysis from a usually insightful mind.

Lee Jenkins

Bolton

ITN on NDAs

Sir: Daisy Ayliffe, who left ITN in 2020, writes about settlement agreements and confidentiality provisions. It’s an important question, which is why ITN has never sought to prevent anyone raising concerns about serious wrongdoing in the workplace, and we entirely refute any allegations to the contrary.

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