Capt Tom Moore’s walk to raise £13m for the NHS is is a tremendous achievement, writes Jeremy Burke – but the health service should be properly funded by taxation. Plus letters from Dave Carter , Jo Clarke and Mike Garner

Capt Tom Moore is a hero, but the NHS shouldn't have to rely on charity

While the walk completed by 99-year-old Capt Tom Moore to raise millions of pounds for the NHS was a tremendous act (War veteran, 99, raises £9m for NHS by walking lengths of back garden, 15 April), we should not forget that the NHS is not a charity but a state-funded service. Donation to a range of charities is laudable, but donations to the NHS undermine the fact that the government has starved it of cash and resources. The NHS is, and should be, paid for through taxation.

Jeremy Burke

London

• In view of Captain Tom’s effort, is it not time to promote him to Major?

Dave Carter

Heaton Chapel, Stockport

• Hooray for Capt Tom Moore (Capt Tom Moore raises £13m for NHS as he completes garden walk, 16 April). By walking around his back garden, he has raised more than the Duke of Westminster’s NHS donation of £12.5m (Duke of Westminster donates £12.5m to NHS coronavirus fight, 15 April).

Jo Clarke

London

• The Duke of Westminster’s donation sounds generous, until you notice that it’s just 0.125% of his £10bn wealth – equivalent to someone with £100,000 donating £125.

Mike Garnier

Bristol

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