Write to letters@thetimes.co.ukSir, James Kirkup is right about how badly we failed children during the pandemic in light of the prolonged closure of schools in Britain (“Silence is deafening on Covid school closures”, Jan 2). According to Unesco figures, France closed its schools for 9.7 weeks, Germany for 23.6 weeks, the UK for 25.9 weeks and Italy for 30 weeks. The harmful consequences of such a failure are wide-reaching in society, and the number of children who have not returned to school since the pandemic is a testament to that. Kirkup is also right that the “ultimate responsibility” for this belongs to Boris Johnson, who, to date, has escaped real scrutiny and consequences for his disastrous handling of the pandemic. Dominica Jewell

Source: The Times January 03, 2025 01:36 UTC