The prime minister’s spokesperson tells us that “spades are already in the ground” (HS2 at risk of further cuts to route north of Birmingham amid budget squeeze, 14 September). I doubt this very much – if the railway navvies had been building the line it would have been completed by now.
Ian Ferguson
Pickering, North Yorkshire
• Tim Dowling’s description of his cat’s apparently murderous intent will have resonated in many cat-owning households (9 September). In our house, the cat is also known as “the killer on the stairs” (Try singing it to the tune of The Doors’ Riders on the Storm.)
Marilyn Rayner
Great Ness, Shropshire
