Letter of the week: Rules of engagement

Hannah Barnes makes a brave attempt to achieve a balanced view of grooming gangs and sexual abuse (Out of the Ordinary, 10 January ) Dr Richard Crombie , Hutton Roof , Cumbria .

Bridget Phillipson is a forthright, genuinely socialist secretary of state who is re-establishing a respectful dialogue with the teaching profession.

Simon Armitage’s description of Boxing Day walks (Nature, 10 January ) shows a lack of understanding regarding farming.

Does he mean the fields shut up for hay or silage, or those growing winter wheat, or spring barley, or recently ploughed ground? Many do so with dogs, whose foul causes disease in young livestock.