Keep the option open Sir: Bruce Anderson always writes well,
but seems temporarily unable to read, other- wise he would not have attacked (Politics, 28 September) those of us who signed the letter on Europe to the Independent for supporting a single currency. We did not. We supported the Cabinet's decision this April to keep the option open. After his bout of vituperation, Bruce Anderson comes to the same conclusion. Let's shake on it.
The purpose of our letter was not to advocate a United States of Europe. For myself, I am content with the Government's White Paper this spring, which set out the British position in the EU with a sensible blend of encouragement and constructive criticism. What is not acceptable is the con- vention that once the Government has taken a view those who want it to be more negative have free rein, while those who support a positive line are expected to be silent for fear of rocking the boat. There is nothing patriotic in the bedrag- gled mode of criticism now current in Britain. It undermines the efforts of the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary abroad, and threatens to unravel the most successful effort of voluntary co-operation which Europe has ever known.
Douglas Hurd
House of Commons, London SW1
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