Gideon Rachman’s “Strongman syndrome” article (Life & Arts, April 2) damns Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, by crude association with the likes of Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan claiming “even in the UK, Boris Johnson’s plan for ‘Global Britain’ draws on nostalgia for a period when Britain was a great imperial power rather than just one member of a European club”.

I can’t help wondering whether Rachman extends similar cynicism to our country’s long-term military support for Ukraine, no doubt seeing similar “imperial” ambitions. I imagine he would have preferred us to be more “communautaire” doing absolutely nothing of practical benefit in line with the majority of the founding members of the “European club”.

Hamish Parker
London W6, UK