YOUR synthetic anger at Debbie Hicks’ “ill advised” statement (Comment, May 24) damages your credibility and that of the SNJ at a time when neither of you can afford it.

The belief that high profile politicians do not capitalise on disastrous events is naive to the point of ignorance.

Think of the huge benefits Thatcher accrued personally during and after the Falklands War.

One of many other examples throughout history: In 1933, Hitler used the burning of the Reichstag to substantially increase his powers.

At his insistence, the president of Germany suspended the protection of most civil liberties.

Once new “emergency” powers were in place, the Reichstag approved the Enabling Act which gave Hitler the power to bypass parliament to make his own laws.

Result: the Nazi era.

The fact is that virtually all high profile politicians behave like this.

This is one of the ways they became high profile politicians in the first place and didn’t stay lobby cannon fodder.

If people don’t like the message, don’t shoot the messenger.

If people don’t believe the message, or don’t understand the message, or don’t know what the message is, don’t shoot the messenger.

Jeremy Marchant

Stroud