R W SELWAY’s letter (May 17, 2010) begins with a lie! My joke to sell Gibraltar and the Falklands to pay off the deficit said nothing and implied nothing about the lives of service personnel.
You accuse me of making political gain over the war in the Falklands, what would you call your many letters since 2003 on the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan non political?
To answer your Nimrod question let me first give you my thoughts on the armed services today. The members are not conscripted or shanghied they are volunteers and come under military law and discipline. As Britain is a member of NATO and the United Nations they may be called on to operate in many regions of the world.
No matter what extra protection is given to aircraft, military vehicles or personnel they can still be shot down, blown up or killed but after nine years in Afghanistan and five in Iraq in some very dangerous environments with under 600 fatalities it proves the safety of our forces is our foremost concern.
As I said previously the Nimrod tragedy was a casualty of war through unforeseen circumstances.
After the inquiry I believe the chairman of Quintiq the company that furnished the interior of the aircraft with its secret equipment resigned from the company and took full responsibility for the incident!
M J WARNER
Groundwell Road
Swindon
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