Dear Editor,

I note that our MP, Rachel Gilmour, says her team closed 1,279 cases in January and sent/received 3,381 emails.

I emailed her (for the first and only time ) in November ‘25 about the BBC’s handling of the scandal arising from Martin Bashir’s lie-based TV interview with Princess Diana, set out in a newly published book. I asked if Parliament would be looking at evidence of potentially criminal activity and a cover-up. I received an auto acknowledgment and was happy to wait for a reply. This came on January 28: a lengthy explanation of the Lib Dem policy relating to the BBC Licence fee (which I hadn’t mentioned) and about the issue I had raised….zilch! Other people have told me communications go unanswered.

Hardly a week goes by without our MP appearing multiple times in the local media and almost every day I receive notice of her Facebook posts. These publicity related activities must need input from her team. Perhaps they need to spend more of their time reading and answering incoming messages?

Yours sincerely,

Sandra Jones

Old Cleeve

Dear Editor,

Our councillors defend paying £20-million on consultants, supposedly saving us money. Isn’t it their job to look at the money they have and workout how to spend our money?

They don’t seem to have done a great job so far as Bill Revens is already asking the government for £11-million, he said two-thirds of residents don’t mind paying more tax this year, although some said not above 4.9 per cent.

Maybe if Mr Revens paid his staff the national norm and not agency staff, allegedly, we’d all be better off.

Sue Andrews

Address supplied

Dear Editor,

In the Postbag in the edition of February 6, 2026, Mr Rod Scotney wrote a letter to the West Somerset Free Press.

“Exmoor’s quiet rejection of a Lagoon”.

West Somerset Lagoon (WSL) would like to know where Mr Rod Scotney is getting his information on the project from?

Also, in a previous article he has been misleading the public on the project with information that is not correct by saying WSL is going to produce hydrogen at Culvercliff and would be having big tanker ships to collect it from shore.

WSL can assure the public that we have no intention of doing this and have never mentioned it for Minehead.

WSL have also said they would look at producing hydrogen at the East Landfall where all the main facility for the power unit will be located away from the public if it was viable, but nothing has been mentioned for the West end landfall. We also believe he has given false information about support from FMH Members (friends of Minehead Harbour).

Mr Scotney should make sure before making allegations he has got his facts straight before sending letters to our local paper.

WSL project has had positive feedback from the public, local businesses, Somerset County Council, and our local MP.

If the public have concerns with the lagoon, please look at West Somerset Lagoon website where there is a ‘Public Consultation’ form to have your views the directors are willing to answer any questions of concern as Mr Scotney is not involved nor has he the correct knowledge of the project.

Thank you.

Steve Pickard

Director, West Somerset Lagoon

Dear Editor,

Thank you so much for printing our article about fundraising for the Salvation Army. Please can you print this correction.

We inadvertently implied that the money collected will fund a minibus. It won’t. We are just hoping to fund purchases of the very necessary contents of a trailer - things like tents and warm clothing. And the weather this week makes it all look even more necessary.

Margaret Tatham

On behalf of the Deanery fundraisers

Dear Editor,

The first days of a baby’s life should be filled with hope and closeness. For parents whose baby is born premature or critically ill, those days are instead spent in neonatal intensive care units, watching over incubators and clinging to every small sign of progress. In those moments being close is not just comforting, it is essential.

Yet for too many families across the UK, staying close to their baby simply isn’t possible. When specialist neonatal care is needed, babies are often transferred far from home, sometimes at very short notice. Parents are left exhausted and distressed, travelling long distances each day because there is nowhere affordable to stay nearby.

The Sick Children’s Trust sees the impact of this every day. The charity supports more than 3,200 families each year at ten ‘Homes from Home’, providing a free place to stay just minutes from their child’s bedside at one of the most traumatic times of their lives.

In partnership with Bradford Hospitals Charity, we are launching an urgent fundraising appeal to build a new ‘Home from Home’ at Bradford Royal Infirmary, a vital lifeline for families with a premature or sick baby in neonatal care.

Bradford’s neonatal unit is one of only four Level 3 NICUs in Yorkshire and the Humber, providing critical care to 31 babies at any one time. It is rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission. However, with only five rooms available for families to stay, many parents face long journeys or expensive hotels simply to be by their baby’s side.

Our ‘Keep Families Together’ appeal will change that.

To support the ‘Keep Families Together’ appeal and help us build this vital ‘Home from Home’ in Bradford, please visit: www.sickchildrenstrust.org/fundraise/bradfordappeal

With heartfelt thanks,

Jane Featherstone (chief executive officer, The Sick Children’s Trust) and Laura Riach (charity director, Bradford Hospitals Charity)