Queen should stay home

THE proposed state visit by the British Queen is only to be welcomed as a sign of better relations between this country and Britain and clearly has been heavily influenced by the publication of the Saville enquiry findings.

Apart from that, there does not seem to be much to recommend such a visit. It will offend, even infuriate, a substantial section of our society. It will also incur a large financial outlay on security measures. No British monarch appears to have set foot in this country since 1911 and by next year we will have survived perfectly well without them for a full hundred years. Queen Elizabeth is not held in any worthwhile level of esteem or affection here and we would be much better off, in terms of disruption and expense, if she stayed at home.

David Roberts