The problem is that Boris has form when it comes to lying, fired by both The Times for falsifying a quotation and Michael Howard for lying. What does Boris do now when confronted by Russian aggression but revert to type and lie, by falsifying what Porton Down actually said?

At a time when we need to reassure our friends of our probity it must surely be in the national interest to ditch the fool.

John Simpson

Ross on Wye

Whether it’s lying about EU money during the referendum, racially insulting President Obama, corruptly spending eye-watering amounts of money on the Garden Bridge project in London or – most recently – failing to follow protocol in the nerve agent/Russian ex-agent saga and then dangerously overstating sensitive information from Porton Down, it must be obvious even to Theresa May that Boris Johnson is currently filling a job he is entirely unsuitable for.

Britain has a long list of ex-Etonians and old boys from other private schools who have trampled this country in recent years. When is enough enough?

Amanda Baker

Address supplied

According to reports, Boris Johnson seems to have received assurances from “the guy” at Porton Down that the nerve agent novichok used in Salisbury was of Russian origin. Exactly which “guy” did he speak to? Was it the chief scientist, perhaps, or someone of not so great authority in the building, such as one of the post room staff? We should know.

In the meantime, Boris Johnson must go.

Mark Morsman

London SE13

Why the special treatment for Prince Philip?

Prince Philip is jolly fortunate to have a hip replacement after having problems for only a month.

As a retired physiotherapist I can remember patients waiting, in pain, for hip ops for many months.

While I wish the prince a very speedy recovery, I can’t help thinking there is one rule for the royal family and another for us lot who have to rely on the NHS, as good as it is.

Suzie Taylor

Pitchcombe

We all have a role in cutting plastic pollution

Your article "Microplastics found in fertilisers being applied to gardens and farmland" makes perfect sense.

It is beyond the time when people have to accept that everybody has to take responsibility for clean living. By cleaning up waste less will go to landfill and more can be recycled. Leave your waste as you would like to find it – clean, separated (do not leave plastic stuck to paper) and ready for processing.

Our local authority accepts food type waste in paper. I wonder if the inks used in modern printing are safe when composted in this way.

It’s not just plastics we have to consider. Industrial chemicals are a wonder of the modern age, but the long term implications are not well enough understood.

Michael Mann

Shrewsbury

History will not forget our forgetting of Syrian refugees

I hope global leaders like President Trump, President Putin and President Xi are aware of the heart-rending condition of the refugees in the squalid and unsafe camps in Lesbos and Moria in Greece. How can we be so indifferent to the plight of Syrian refugees?

Leaders of various countries are elected by their constituents to look after the interests of their people. So President Trump is right in focusing on reserving local jobs for Americans and President Xi is justified in expanding the Chinese economy. But how can all world leaders ignore the screams of innocent Syrian refugees who face starvation, disease, deprivation, molestation and even death?

There some human challenges which are above elections, jobs and trade. The issue of how war-impacted Syrian refugees are treated by the world is a humanitarian one, and the United Nations should take charge. If the UN does not act immediately on this issue, the very purpose for its creation and the basis of its existence will be undermined. Syrian refugees cannot just be left to die in this time and age. This will be a serious blot on the entire human race, which history will not forget or forget to condone.

Rajendra Aneja

Mumbai, India

A healthy snack alternative

Why don’t you tell shops to sell vegetable covered chocolate and cakes made out of beetroot and broccoli? This would cut the obesity epidemic.