Is Ed Miliband alive to the security implications of racing to net zero?

Plus: Trump and democracy; Church cover-up; HS2’s bat shed; charity concerns; and statues under threat from anti-Semitic vandals

SIR – Here in Sherborne, we are experiencing what the Met Office terms “anticyclonic gloom” (report, November 8). My solar panels register zero, and there is no wind to generate power. 
As a former serviceman, I have no idea how our country would fare if the cables that connect us to Europe were cut, or if the power we import had to be turned off for Europe’s own survival. How would the military – so dependent on electricity – cope in such a situation? Should we hoist the white flag to Vladimir Putin now? 
Is Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, aware of how his reckless drive to achieve net zero may affect our national security?
Philip CongdonSherborne, Dorset
SIR – I was interested to read that Sweden has blocked more than a dozen offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea over fears they could make the country more vulnerable to attacks from Russia (report, November 5).
This appears to be a rational decision and, refreshingly, has put more immediate security risks ahead of the ideological obsession with achieving net zero.
Did Ed Miliband include national defence in his risk-assessment when determining the measures to manage climate change?
Alan GillettWimborne, Dorset
SIR – Ed Miliband should take notice of what is happening in Germany. 
The government is in turmoil following a fallout between Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his finance minister, Christian Lindner, in part over Mr Lindner’s desire to delay net zero targets. I suspect, however, given the majority Labour enjoys (won with just 20 per cent of the country backing the party), that Mr Miliband will blunder on, leading our country into hardship.
The sensible course would be to come to a decision on small modular nuclear reactors immediately, and get them into production, positioned near redundant power stations where access to the grid is ready and waiting.
J S HirstHuddersfield, West Yorkshire
 
SIR – Autocratic rulers throughout the world are characterised by their aggressive populist harangues, disdain for the rule of law, antipathy to free debate, criminal activities, denial of the results of democratic processes, and a determination, as far as is possible, to rule by decree.
It’s quite astonishing that America has elected such a leader (Letters, November 8). Are our much-vaunted liberal democracies such a big deal after all?
Kenneth PrestonRoyal Hillsborough, Co Down
SIR – When I’m asked to explain the differences between the English and Americans, I instantly reply: Guy Fawkes. 
After attempting to blow up Parliament in 1605, Guy Fawkes was hung, drawn and quartered. After attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump ran for president and won.
To paraphrase George Bernard Shaw, Americans and the English are separated by more than our common language.
Paul L NewmanMerion Station, Pennsylvania, United States
SIR – Sadly, my uncle, Anthony Eden, will forever be associated with Suez. However, prior to that, he is widely acknowledged as being one of the very best foreign secretaries we have had. 
When asked what his main criteria were, he replied: “Good diplomacy and good manners.” Probably decent advice for any foreign secretary (“Starmer backs Lammy the Trump critic”, report, November 7).
Elfrida Eden FallowfieldChichester, West Sussex
 
SIR – We are spending £100 million on a bat shed as part of HS2 (report, November 8). Why not spend the money on a new hospital? Are bats now more important than people?
Graham WatsonYeovil, Somerset
 
SIR – Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, has been criticised for his personal and moral failures by an independent report into the prolific abuser John Smyth QC, whose abuse of more than 100 children and young men was covered up by the Church of England for decades (report, November 8).
Archbishop Welby, and many other senior Church figures, have known of the scandal since August 2013. He knew the abuser and several victims personally, yet nothing was done until Channel 4 broke the story in 2017.
Interviewed by Cathy Newman on Thursday, Archbishop Welby was told that the victims have called for his resignation. He responded that he had considered resigning that very morning, but was “advised not to”.
This raises two questions. What is the quality of your moral leadership if you routinely follow what you are advised? And what precisely does moral agency mean in the established Church? 
Nobody ever accepts responsibility.
Martin SewellMember of the General SynodGravesend, Kent
 
SIR – Roger Daltrey is right that the recent Budget could be “catastrophic” for charities (report, November 5). It has raised significant concern among non-NHS palliative care providers like Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity. 
Despite relieving pressure on the NHS, we receive no central government funding and rely on public donations to support families caring for terminally ill children. The planned changes to employers’ National Insurance (NI) add significantly to financial pressures that threaten our capacity to maintain essential services.
The anticipated increase in NI and the reduction of the threshold could cost us an extra £90,000 or more next year – a figure equivalent to the cost of supporting in the region of 75 families for a year. Unlike the NHS, which is exempt from this rise, charities that deliver non-medical, family-focused care face a growing funding gap. This lack of parity risks undermining services that are crucial for families during the hardest times of their lives, when they know that a child might die.
We urge the Government to reconsider and exempt charities from the changes to NI, so we can maintain our support for families facing terminal childhood illness.
Zillah BingleyChief executive, Rainbow Trust Children’s CharityLeatherhead, Surrey
SIR – I’m a volunteer trustee for an advice organisation, which has seen demand for our services soar, while funding has stagnated. 
The decision to raise employers’ NI and not exempt charities is extremely damaging. Low-income households are coming to us in ever-increasing numbers as they struggle to cope with the rising cost of food, fuel and housing. Coupled with lengthy delays in processing claims for benefits such as Personal Independence Payment, Pension Credit and Universal Credit, this hammering of the charity sector could not come at a worse time.
Valerie GoodchildBangor, Co Down
 
SIR – Recently I attended the funeral of Brian Tesler (Obituaries, November 4). 
Brian was the last surviving member of the three creative giants of the golden age of public service broadcasting. The two others were Sir Bill Cotton and Sir Paul Fox. 
I was lucky enough to know and learn from them in my broadcasting career. In fact, they taught me everything I know. Unfortunately, they never taught me everything they knew, so I’m still toiling.
Lord Grade of YarmouthLondon SW1
 
SIR – I was once an RAF training captain on the C130 Hercules. On our return to RAF Lyneham during a final handling test for a new pilot, the airfield was beset by hill fog (Letters, November 8). 
We had enough fuel to hold, and although all the other station’s aircraft had diverted to Exeter, there was one other holding with us, a Royal Squadron BAe 146, with the Prince of Wales on board.
After some time the visibility improved enough for us to attempt an approach. I briefed my student pilot that, if he could get in, then I would pass him for the sortie. He was able to do so, despite the marginal conditions. Having landed safely, the way was then clear for the Prince of Wales’s aircraft to land.
My student finished the course but we never did receive any thanks from the Prince for helping him to complete his journey.
Phil MobbsKendal, Cumbria
SIR – In 1971 I was a stewardess with British Airways (Letters, November 8). To avoid landing in fog in Malta, the captain delayed our arrival by diverting to Sicily. On taking off again, the captain told us to look out of the windows as he circled Mount Etna, so that we could all see it erupting.
Some things you never forget.
Sally CornwellAscot, Berkshire
 
SIR – Reading of how pro-Palestine activists at the University of Manchester stole a bust of Professor Harold Dixon (report, November 8) after mistaking it for one of Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann (whose bust they also stole and decapitated), I am reminded of a story Prague tourist guides like to tell. 
During the occupation of Czechoslovakia, the Nazis ordered the statue of composer Felix Mendelssohn – a Jew – be removed from the roof of the magnificent Prague concert hall, where busts of famous artists were displayed. 
The tradesmen sent had no idea which of the many statues was that of Mendelssohn. Having been indoctrinated that Jews have big noses, they disposed of the statue with the largest nose. 
It was in fact that of Richard Wagner – an anti-Semite, and the favourite composer of Adolf Hitler.
A Soudry Jerusalem, Israel
SIR – When I heard about the Israeli football fans being chased and attacked by a pro-Palestinian mob in Amsterdam, shouting “now you know how it feels” (report, November 8), I shed a tear. 
I remember visiting the Anne Frank House, and am ashamed of this behaviour, which is happening across Europe, including in London.
Governments need to clamp down. We should of course have free speech, but there are limits.
Margaret O’ConnellRickmansworth, Hertfordshire
 
SIR – As a very small child in 1944, I had a tiny teddy bear (Letters, November 8). My father was conscripted into the Army, and to remember his daughter he took my teddy with him in his battledress pocket. 
Teddy went to the D-Day landings, then through Holland and Germany, up to the Rhine. Both my father and my teddy came back safely. 
My father died some years ago, but teddy is still in my possession, wrapped in tissue paper, as he is showing his age and his battle scars.
Ella BrownYork
SIR – I used to knit teddy bears for charity, but made an extra one for my daughter’s best friend, Jane, an avid Manchester United fan. 
He was red, with the requisite red, black and white striped scarf. The moment Jane laid eyes on him, he was christened Eric, as in Cantona. Eric has travelled extensively all over Europe and the Mediterranean, and is far less likely to be left behind than her husband. 
He survived the washing machine – now strictly offside – and has aged as well as the human original. 
Joy NelsonNewbury, Berkshire
 
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