Letter

Sir: Nothing could be further from the truth than the suggestion ("Greenham women celebrate the final victory with garden shears and muscle power", 15 September) that the removal of the Greenham Common fence marks "a final victory for peace campaigners" - unless, by peace campaigners, he really means Nato.

When President Ronald Reagan proposed the Zero Option in 1981, CND and Greenham protestors rejected it. They vowed first to prevent cruise missiles being deployed at the base, and then to prevent them from leaving the base in convoy patrols after they were duly deployed on schedule in 1983. The unilateralists utterly failed to achieve their aims.

By contrast, Nato's Zero Option objective was to achieve the elimination of the cruise missiles in return for Soviet destruction of hundreds of SS20 missiles targeted against Western Europe. This was precisely what Nato achieved in its 1987 deal with the Kremlin, following the successful deployment of cruise, despite all the protesters' predictions to the contrary. You should not give them credit for the beneficial consequences of their total defeat.

Dr JULIAN LEWIS MP

(Con, New Forest East)

House of Commons

London SW1