I WAS disappointed to read your Comment column headed “No one wins nuclear war”

(Echo, June 24). I served for 16 years in the Royal Navy as a submariner, for four years on the Resolution Class Polaris submarines and for ten years on the Vanguard Class Trident submarines.

For the best part of 40 years these submarines have been Britain’s nuclear deterrent.

Many thousands of Britain’s men have served with little recognition except from their peers in conditions far worse than any prison.

It is the threat of mutual destruction that has held these weapons in check for more than 60 years. These weapons are here now and hopefully never to be used, but as the number of countries wishing to develop these weapons increases I personally feel much happier that we are not in a weapons race trying to develop them.

With regard to budget requirements, more attention should be paid to the murky world of defence procurement and why the costs of major defence projects seem to spiral out of control.

The money that disappears into hidden coffers would then be available for other uses.

Untold billions have been paid out on budget overruns on almost all the most recent important military projects.

Craig Jewkes, Darlington.

WE would like to congratulate you on your excellent Comment column, “No one wins nuclear war” (Echo, June 24).

We share these views entirely regarding the moral, economic, and political arguments raised.

Nuclear weapons are expensive, immoral, genocidal and suicidal.

A further aspect – surely we should be supporting US President Barack Obama, who has a refreshingly sane approach to the worldwide threat posed by these terrible weapons.

He insists that the US has a moral duty to take a lead in reducing our dependency on nuclear defence. This applies to all countries with nuclear weapons.

Telling others they must not acquire them, while quietly updating our own, is hypocritical and totally counter-productive. It may sound naive to talk of setting a good example, but has it ever been tried?

It’s good to see major issues ventilated alongside purely local matters in our newspaper. These are issues which affect us all, no matter where we live.

Heather Speight, on behalf of Peace Action Durham.