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Disarming by default

Sir: Underpinning Rod Liddle’s amusing article on use of nuclear weapons last week is the reassurance provided by our deterrent (‘Will Putin go nuclear?’, 7 May). It is not difficult to imagine Putin’s behaviour if Russia alone possessed nuclear weapons.

Our nation has embarked on refreshing the deterrent; and replacement of the four ballistic missile submarines, modifications to missiles and production of a new warhead are at the very limit of our nation’s industrial capability. Despite the US being extremely helpful, the performance of the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) does not inspire confidence.

It is crucial that there is sufficient funding, particularly at AWE, over the next ten years. Without such commitment we will unilaterally disarm by default, and our nation and the world will be less safe.

Admiral Lord West of Spithead

House of Lords, London SW1A

Defra in the detail

Sir: It was interesting to read about Defra’s hostility to Brexit (‘“Whitehall was horrified by Brexit”’, 7 May). To be fair, Defra is getting some things right: it is making an effort to keep farmers informed about new policies, to involve them in making them, and to help farmers’ cashflow. But it is making a real devil out of the detail – and the detail is where the biggest reforms are needed. It hems its grants around with such detailed specifications that some items are simply not fit for purpose, while others require maintenance and future replacement costs. Further, Defra outsources some of its grant-making to quangos without proving those quangos are competent. Farming is a commodity business, so farmers can increase profits only by reducing input costs. Whatever the shortcomings of EU subsidies (and deficiency payments before 1973), those systems created a simple revenue floor against which farmers could reduce their costs. Defra’s plan to use environmental measures to create a new revenue floor is the right thing to do, but only if it steps away from detail that does nothing except increase farmers’ costs.

Matthew Quirk

Chiddingstone, Kent

College defence

Sir: Toby Young (‘Police farce’, 7 May) appears to want to abolish the College of Policing because we’ve irritated him and are publicly funded.

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