Thank you for Lynne Hutchinson's piece on Dr Ian Fairlie's talk in Oldbury last week about a recent study sponsored by the German government

into the incidence of childhood leukaemia near German nuclear installations.

The study provoked public outcry and media debate in Germany because it indicates that increased risks of childhood leukaemia are very large; are unequivocally linked to proximity to nuclear reactors; appear to extend as far as 70 km from the nuclear reactors, and are accepted by the German Government, which has decided NOT to build any more nuclear reactors in that country.

And yet the results of this study have been given very little attention in the UK. What a contrast with the UK government, which has always ignored any suggestion of any link between nuclear power plants and leukaemia, despite numerous studies showing such a link. Our leaders are bent on pursuing the nuclear option, despite the fact nuclear power can do nothing to improve Britain's energy security or help it meet the urgent challenge of climate change, as the government argues.

Furthermore, the waste disposal problem is still not resolved, and it is already clear that the nuclear companies will not be able to build their plants without massive subsidies from the taxpayer. I'm old enough to remember the slogan used by the nuclear industry when the first generation of stations was built – "Electricity too cheap to meter". We've been conned by the nuclear industry before – don't let it happen again.

Tony Harding,

Winterbourne.