Letter: Unkind cut

Sir: Far from agreeing with your correspondents that circumcision should be provided by the Health Service, I would like to see infant circumcision banned. Nobody should stop any man who has made an informed decision to become a member of one of the religious faiths which require circumcision from being provided with the opportunity to have this quick and simple operation.

However, there is no doubt that it amounts to a permanent mutilation. There is some evidence that male circumcision can negatively affect the sensitivity of the head of the penis, and therefore the capacity for sexual fulfilment. In any case, religious freedom should not extend to the right to interfere with the human rights of others.

KATYA WHITTON

Oxford