Frederick Sutton (Oxford Mail, October 3) tells us that an anti-nuclear letter in the Guardian and Independent newspapers had hundreds of signatories.

Was it 200 or 300 or a thousand hundreds?

He also says that "it has been estimated that 60 per cent of the British public are now anti-nuclear". Estimated by whom? And on what basis? And anyway, what does that prove?

If Mr Sutton were told that 60 per cent of the British public wanted to restore witch-burning or bear-baiting, would he want them back?

Carlyle wrote that "Britain contained 40 million people, mostly fools". One sometimes fears that he was right.

RALPH LEAVIS Jourdain Road Blackbird Leys Oxford