10 MAY 1963, Page 13

SECOND-CLASS SHOCK SIR,—In her letter (Spectator, April 26), Mrs. Picken

expresses furious indignation that in his talk on American TV Mr. Harold Wilson 'should so shamelessly, so gleefully label his country as second- class. . . To me it seems sheer treason.'

After re-reading the transcript, I am happy to be able to reassure Mrs. Picken. Mr. Wilson did nothing of the kind. He simply restated the Labour Party's objections to Britain's 'independent' nuclear deterrent.

Mrs. Picken appears to hold that any nation without an effective independent nuclear deterrent- is 'second-class.' Shamelessly, gleefully, she pours scorn on all the nations of the world except two.

House of Commons. SW 1 CHRISTOPHER MAYHEW