I can understand why Ian Jack is impressed by the scale of the achievement of Britain’s new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth (Britain’s new aircraft carrier may be a vast folly – but it still provokes awe, 1 July). But why not show some imagination and turn it (and her sister ship) into something really useful? It would make a wonderful emergency rescue vehicle, equipped to respond to disasters – natural and manmade – worldwide. Helicopters, heavy lifting gear, even a hospital, would surely make a far better contribution to combatting “multiple and changing threats across the globe” than more killing machines such as F35 fighter-bombers. It would also need a flotilla of smaller support vessels, eg, landing craft, which would provide huge numbers of jobs for many years. I commend the idea to Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour party’s policymakers.
Frank Jackson
(Former co-chair, World Disarmament Campaign), Harlow, Essex
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