The actions Tony Blair set in motion while joined at the hip to George W Bush have set back the reputation of this country to that of the worst days of colonial ravaging and overlording. Is this the face the European Union wants to present to the rest of the world (“Just the man for the job?”, Focus, and “If we must have a president, make him dull”, Editorial, last week)?

Legacies of this man’s leadership include a concrete wall around our parliament and a near-Orwellian crackdown on civil rights and freedoms. Is this really the kind of “leadership” the rest of Europe wants? Surely we should all be trying to distance ourselves from his grotesque foreign policy failings. His appointment as a peacemaker for the Middle East was insulting enough.

Martin Wespestad
London SE22

Hague’s vague recall

Your leader may be right in saying that Blair is too big a figure to be EU president. However, it is extraordinary that William Hague bases his opposition to Blair on the decision to invade Iraq. Hague was a strong supporter of the invasion in the decisive debate in March 2003, ridiculing the Lib Dem arguments against it.

Anthony Garrett
Falkland, Fife

I know just the man . . .

Surely Gordon Brown is the best UK candidate? Such a move would solve the leadership problem for Labour, he could leave with his head high and there could be a general election. He is ideally equipped for a non-decision- making position. It would also enable him to pay back Blair.

Vincent Sinnott
St-Raphael, France

Born with myasthenia gravis and doing well

I was very concerned to read about the plight of Baby RB (“Parents fight in court over life of disabled son”, News, last week). My daughter was also born with congenital myasthenia (CM) and at birth my husband and I were told she might be a physical and mental vegetable. She did indeed have a troublesome childhood with multiple hospital admissions, intubations and extensive medical input. At one year of age, like Baby RB, she could hardly move, at five years she walked about 50 yards and she used a wheelchair to her early teens.

Twenty years on she can walk a mile on a good day and drive her car and she leads a full, happy and independent life at university. CM is indeed rare but there are drugs that can boost the fatigued muscles; physiotherapy is vital, and the Myasthenia Gravis Association is an excellent source of advice and support.

Frances Brannon-Rhodes
Virginia Water, Surrey

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