***

We need our sports back. I have memories from two years ago of watching the World Cup, sipping on a crisp lager and enjoying a pub’s beer garden. It feels alien now.

The impact of Covid-19 has affected many businesses in Romford. Currently only a handful of essential retailers are trading.

Letters from readers this week

***

Letters, contributions and comments sent in from Recorder readers this week.

I have been contacted by many concerned residents regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) over the last few weeks, and I have advised constituents to follow the official guidance issued by the UK Government, NHS, and local councils.

No guidance on what is and is not essential

It’s a national disgrace that it takes such a widespread crisis for the country to realise just what heroes our health workers are.

Letters, contributions and comments sent from Recorder readers this week.

Combating the Covid-19 pandemic presents to our nation and the world at large an exceptional set of challenges.

Save lives by living under house arrest

Five days into lockdown and we’re all beginning to get used to this odd version of house arrest.

Letters, contributions and comments sent in from Recorder readers this week.

This month, I am happy that Havering Council’s adults social care services have been recognised as amongst the best in the country.

Well done, Aker - good timing, innit?

The coronavirus outbreak has created a situation most of us have never experienced before.

Letters, contributions and comments sent in from Recorder readers this week.

On Friday last week, I had the privilege of showing the Australian High Commissioner around Romford.

Are we about to run out of toilet paper?

It’s the C word everyone’s talking about - coronavirus

Letters, contributions and comments sent in from Recorder readers this week.

Throughout my time as an MP I have consistently fought for our local NHS, but over the years government cuts have resulted in the dramatic loss of services in Havering

Phone addiction helping thieves

We all know the importance of sleep for good health and those who have been in hospital know how it often gets interrupted for those essential checks, for vital signs and for safety.

In the five years I have been a reporter here at the Recorder, the murder of Jodie Chesney stands out in awful clarity.

Letters, contributions and comments sent in from Recorder readers this week.

Policing, deterrence and punishment will always form a key part of tackling violence, and the sharp rise in the use of stop and search powers across Havering is already having an impact. But as I wrote in this column last year, police officers cannot do everything. We stand a better chance of preventing violent crime if we involve all parts of the community in the fightback.

Is it easier now to dodge TV licence?

Most of us dream of being a superhero when we are children.

Letters, contributions and comments sent in from Recorder readers this week.

Last week the London Assembly examined Sadiq Khan’s final budget as Mayor of London. As we all know, London is currently facing massive challenges, none more concerning than the inexorable growth in violent crime which this Mayor has presided over. This budget provided the perfect chance for the Mayor to prove he is true to his word when he says he is putting Londoners’ safety and security above all else.

Boris’s bridge is like Trump’s wall

Despicable doctor Manish Shah has been jailed for at least 15 years for 90 sexual assaults on female patients.

Letters, contributions and comments sent in from Recorder readers this week.

It was awful to see another terrorist attack on London’s streets at the weekend. My thoughts are with those injured and my gratitude to our wonderful emergency services. I wholeheartedly support Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel in their efforts to make sure terrorists who are not fit to leave prison stay there.

E-cars bad news for petrol heads

Romford had reason to be proud this week when one of our own won at the Baftas.

Letters, contributions and comments sent in from Recorder readers this week.

This is a historic day for the United Kingdom. More than three years since the British people delivered their emphatic verdict to leave the European Union, the Conservative government is finally delivering Brexit and tonight at 11pm we will be out of the EU for good!

Should pubs limit drinks for parents?

Well. It’s finally here. Whether or not you voted to leave the EU, none of us could have envisioned the fiasco and bitter divisions of the past three years.

Letters, contributions and comments sent in from Recorder readers this week.

Earlier this month the campaign to protect air quality across Rainham and South Hornchurch moved to the next stage. The planning inspectorate have made their recommendations to the Secretary of State on whether to approve or reject a second mass waste incinerator on the banks of the Thames - which would threaten air quality, human health and biodiversity across the south of Havering.

Letters, contributions and comments sent in from Recorder readers this week.