28 JULY 1990, Page 21

Sir: Timothy Garton Ash (`The best Ger- many we've got',

21 July) says in essence that we ought to surrender our sovereignty to a federal Europe as the necessary price for persuading Germany to do the same. But, if a unified Germany will be such a threat to our welfare, can it be wise to yield our independence to a federation in which it is the most powerful member?

Geoffrey Sampson

Mewith View, Mount Pleasant, Bentham, Yorkshire