YP Letters: EU not to blame for radioactive isotopes supply problems

THE EU has many faults but it isn’t to blame for causing problems in supply of radioactive isotopes as strangely suggested by Councillor Tony Galbraith (The Yorkshire Post, August 1).

If he can show how and when Eurocrats decreed there shall only be a few centres of production in the EU, and not in the UK, then I’ll happily donate £50 to the Lord Mayor of York’s Appeal. I think my money is safe.

Radio isotopes were made by Amersham International; a succesful nationalised business. It was the first state enterprise to be privatised under Mrs Thatcher and is now owned by the American General Electric Company, under its GE healthcare subsidiary. Many once British nationalised industries are now in foreign hands

Coun Galbraith is better when he mentions multi-national companies which make decisions on sourcing products based on their own profits. Unfortunately Britain has no law to prevent multi-nationals taking over British companies. A Brexit-supporting Yorkshire Conservative MP told me this would be a breach of “free markets”.

Not for the first time British policy or lack of it is far more to blame than the many failings of the EU.

From: Ian Oglesby, York.

THE article by Lord Adonis (The Yorkshire Post, July 28) was a misrepresentation of Churchill’s attitude to Britain’s involvement in Europe.

Annoyed at being misquoted in May 1953, he made the following statement: “We are with Europe but not of it. We are linked but not compromised. We are associated but not absorbed. And should any European statesman address us and say ‘Shall we speak for thee?’ we should reply ‘Nay, Sir, for we live among our own people’.” Churchill supported union of European states but emphasised that Britain must be on the outside. In a later speech, Churchill said: “Faced with Europe on the open sea, Britain must always choose the open sea.”

From: Peter Haw, Kirkby Road, Ripon.

I CANNOT let the letter from Adrian Calteri (The Yorkshire Post, August 2) go unanswered. It is not the EU which has maintained peace in Europe for the past 70 years but Nato, backed by a huge American force on the ground in Germany.