PM scrapes barrel with prisons joke | Brief letters

PM's tasteless remark | Maskless Tories | Climate v capitalism | Stinging criticism

The prime minister's puerile remarks on penal policy (PM condemned for joke about UK becoming Saudi Arabia of penal policy', 14 September) plumb new depths in what passes for debate on the subject in this country. Short of conscription, the decision to imprison represents probably the most extreme manifestation of the state's authority over individuals. Deciding how we exercise that power deserves better than a second-rate stand-up routine.
Peter Dawson
Director, Prison Reform Trust

I was wondering if the reluctance on the Conservative government benches to wear face coverings in the House of Commons was because it was making it impossible for them to be a bunch of barefaced liars (The politics sketch, 14 September).
Derek Anderson
Broughton, Hampshire