Rishi Sunak’s prostate cancer mission is well-intentioned… but unnecessary

Letters to the editor: our readers share their views. Please send your letters to letters@independent.co.uk

Screening for prostate cancer has never been shown to reduce men’s overall mortality, but always leads to overdiagnosis and over-treatment ("Rishi Sunak ‘honoured’ to become prostate cancer charity ambassador", Tuesday 25 February).

Survival appears to increase with screening because of lead time bias, though the actual time of death is not delayed.

With all due respect to the former prime minister, there is no reason for the UK to follow Kazakhstan and Lithuania, the only countries with official national screening programmes.

Dr John Doherty

Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire

Farmers deserve a new deal

If Labour doesn’t want to reverse or change its plans regarding inheritance tax on farmers, could they at least look at realignment with the EU for farming produce? ("Environment secretary faces ire of farmers as tax row shows no sign of abating", Tuesday 25 February).

The Tories hammered farmers by signing poor deals with Australia and New Zealand, purely to say they were signing deals. Would giving something back maybe placate angry farmers?

David Hill

Sheddocksley, Aberdeen

All’s fair in war and war, Donald!

Donald Trump demands fairness in America’s dealings with Ukraine (“Trump ‘wants 50% cut’ of Ukraine’s mineral riches in return for peace”, Tuesday 18 February).

In the same spirit, the UK should demand compensation for the loss of life and funds as a consequence of being inveigled in America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Come on Donny… fair’s fair!

David Smith

Bradford-on-Tone, Somerset

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Donald Trump has basically declared Ukraine to be a “European problem”. Yet he also insists it is he, and he alone, who should be negotiating any peace deal with his new friend, Vladimir Putin (“US sides with 'new axis of evil' in refusing to condemn Putin over Ukraine invasion”, Tuesday 25 February).

Now that Trump is firmly in the Russian camp, should we be considering removing the USA from the Five Eyes intelligence community, insisting that the US closes all its European army and air force bases, and maybe even start taking over some of its assets? We could start with a couple of golf courses.

As for Britain’s nuclear submarines – which exist primarily as a deterrent to a Russian strike, and can only be used to launch missiles with US support – they are effectively redundant now Trump has moved to the dark side.

Geoff Forward

Stirling

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“If the American nuclear umbrella is folded up and taken home, the ETO will have to replace it” – so said Sean O’Grady when he proposed the formation of Nato replacement, a new European Treaty Organisation ("Is Europe ready for a US-free Nato?", Monday 24 February).

He is right but – without US support, the UK’s ballistic missile submarines lose their Trident nuclear missiles.

Surely, the solution is for France to undertake the provision of the strategic nuclear umbrella for ETO countries with its Force de dissuasion? The UK’s Dreadnought class submarines currently under construction could then be converted to carry tactical cruise missiles instead; thereby providing a badly needed increase to the much denuded conventional warfare capability of the Royal Navy.

Commander Robert Forsyth (ret’d)

Deddington, Oxfordshire

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How’s this for a counterfactual? It is early 1941. Winston Churchill has won the Battle of Britain and prevented the Nazi invasion, but all-out victory is still years away.

Up pops an American president demanding an end to “this ridiculous war”. But Britain has no hope of pushing Hitler out of mainland Europe.

What if Churchill had thought of the “economic opportunities”, and simply allowed Hitler to rejoin the League of Nations? ("From Ukraine’s minerals to the Gaza Riviera – why Trump’s foreign policy is all about money", Tuesday 25 February)

Jerome Phillips

Hitchin, Herts

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