Women’s rights campaigners have been protesting at the Royal Courts of Justice calling for decriminalisation of abortion after the treatment of mum Carla Foster (Picture: PA)
Following the release of mum Carla Foster, who was imprisoned under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, for illegally terminating her pregnancy using abortion pills sent through the post.
In today’s MetroTalk readers are questioning why the mum was ever sentenced under the 162-year-old act in the first place.
They ask if the judge should be held accountable for his poor judgement now that she’s free, and whether it is time we reconsidered such outdated laws?
On another note, it seems some of you are showing very little sympathy to Nigel Farage’s banking troubles. Was Coutts right to kick him out, or should big businesses show impartiality to their customers?
Let us know what you think.
Why has this archaic law not been updated since Victorian times?
Women’s rights campaigners in Westminster, London after taking part in a march from the Royal Courts of Justice calling for decriminalisation of abortion (Picture: PA)
The decision of the appeal court judges to free mum-of-three Carla Foster is a victory for common sense.
She should never have been jailed in the first place. It’s quite incredible that women can still be sent to prison because of a law dating back to 1861!
Why has this archaic law not been updated since Victorian times? Scott, West London
METRO TALK – HAVE YOUR SAY
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It is very good news indeed that the mother-of-three jailed for 28 months for terminating her own pregnancy is being released but I am concerned about the thinking of the person who thought such a sentence was appropriate in the first place.
It’s not the first time we’ve seen an inappropriate sentence handed down and we should be glad that we have an appeal system to put right these wrongs.
But a woman who needs compassion not punishment still had to endure five weeks of imprisonment.
Judges seem to be untouchable and the only public servants who are never held accountable for their actions but surely when such an egregious example of what many people regard as poor judgment is displayed we need to be asking serious questions about the suitability for office of the individual involved Chris,Stockport
Nigel Farage vs Coutts Bank
Coutts bank has said it does not close customer accounts (Picture: Getty)
Coutts closed Nigel Farage’s bank account due to his ‘values’ (Metro, Thu). If you want to keep your account, whatever you do, don’t express your personal views.
Jean Anderson, Walthamstow
Nigel Farage is an advocate of the free market, where businesses are free to trade with little state intervention. Yet when he falls victim to such practices he claims it shouldn’t be allowed. Neil Dance, Birmingham
Does the fact that Coutts bank is part of NatWest – which the government has a large stake in – mean that the rich with millions are better protected from bank failure than the FSA protection limit of £85,000 for other banks? Is this yet again one rule for the rich? Ted, Reading
Well done Farage. We are in this country to have free speech yet they are trying to stop it. Stuart, London
I find it rather ironic that the PM is demanding the right to free speech for politicians over the Farage bank row, whilst actively suppressing that very same right for the general public through changes to the Policing Act and Public Order Act, and the Electoral Integrity Bill.
These are similar to laws in place in an authoritarian country I lived in several years ago. Fiona, London
Could it be time for NatWest CEO Alison Rose to resign because of criticism brought down on the 331-year-old august bank of Coutts & Co under her ‘woke’ leadership? Mike, Surrey
Readers disagree with Tony B on Uni degrees
A reader makes their point on why a degree is more than memory (Picture: PA)
Most weeks I’ll pick up my trusty Metro for a good read on the train and again ‘Tony B from Thailand’ will have made a good comment in MetroTalk.
He is always engaging, knowledgeable and probably someone I would like to see having a go at running the country.
You seem to have time on your hands Tony – ever thought about running for PM? Gotta be worth coming back to the UK for. Steve H, Hackbridge
As someone who gained a degree in 1971, I could not disagree more with Tony B of Thailand.
First of all you absolutely cannot gain a degree by simply having a good memory – that is an insult to anyone who has ever been awarded a degree! Yes, you have to know your facts but you have to be able to discuss, to argue, to weigh up many points of view and come to your own conclusion.
The subject you choose to study is, to some extent, irrelevant. The aim of a university is not to provide you with a good job, although this is obviously desirable.
The main aim is to produce well-balanced individuals with open minds who can think for themselves, who have the tools to continue to learn and to develop as human beings. Jean Law, Huddersfield
You’re all wrong. The reason the Tories want to stop people going to uni is because graduates are more likely to vote against them. It’s another self-serving policy from the Tories. Aidan, Dartford
The Just Stop Oil debate continues…
Just Stop Oil supporters surrounded by counter-protesters from ‘Just Stop Pissing Everyone Off’ (Picture: Twitter/JustStopOil)
Regarding yesterday’s MetroTalk headline, ‘Time to just stop oil or just stop protesting?’. If the demonstrators were eco-warriors and not eco-cowards they would go to the major polluters – China, India, Russia… Clark Cross, Linlithgow
In answer to Geoff Moore (MetroTalk, Tue) the natural forces contributing to climate change haven’t vanished. However, they have been made a lot worse by human activity. Colin Price, Ilford
If these protesters are so against oil, how do they travel to all the events they disrupt? Robert, via email
Reversing these catastrophic changes to our environment will require drastic action that will leave the inconvenience of Covid a forgotten memory. The longer we fiddle around with promises and predictions, the more drastic measures will be needed.
Good luck to the protesters, they have a far better insight than the politicians.
Tony Johnson, Bradwell
The only answer to climate change is: learn to live with it. The activists are trying to scare the wits out of everyone so that the government will push through their ill-thought plans. ‘Zero this’ and ‘zero that’ by 2050?
A fantasy. Even if it were possible it would have a miniscule effect on the climate but a very damaging one on the economy.
We should expand nuclear energy while we find safer solutions, rather than resort to stone age technology – windmills, for pity’s sake! Chris, via email
