Letter: Cornwall too

Sir: The British-Irish initiative on Northern Ireland includes the proposal to set up "an inter-governmental council to deal with the totality of relationships, to include representatives of the British and Irish governments, the Northern Ireland administration and the devolved institutions in Scotland and Wales".

A "Council of the Isles" is a good idea as far as it goes. However, the proposed membership cannot represent a "totality of relationships". The troubles in Northern Ireland affect the whole of Ireland and the British Isles. On a purely economic level, we are all paying the cost of civil unrest.

Let the Government admit that these islands are a patchwork of nations, sovereignties and cultures. A Council of the Isles must be open to all the Celtic nations in these isles. Cornwall and the Isle of Man need to have a place along with the rest.

PAUL A R DUNBAR

Press Officer, Mebyon Kernow

Liskeard, Cornwall