An MoD spokesman says the UK “does not have” powerful and controversial thermobaric weapons (Report, 18 November). This is a case of weasel words: the MoD does not accept the use of the term thermobaric as “there is no internationally accepted definition”. So the thermobaric AMG-114N missiles fired by UK Reaper drones have been relabelled as “enhanced blast” instead. The British army’s light anti-structures missile, a shoulder-launched rocket for destroying buildings and bunkers, is similarly a rebranded M72A9 thermobaric weapon. The statement is therefore correct, simply because the MoD will never use the word thermobaric. They will, however, continue to use thermobaric weapons.
David Hambling
London
• Well, there’s a surprise (Cold calls to be banned, 19 November). George Osborne and co must be the only people in the country who did not predict the parasites and fraudsters waiting in the wings to siphon off £19m of pension funds last year, after his disastrous changes. An utter disgrace.
Catherine Roome
Staplehurst, Kent
• Duncan Grimmond (Letters, 18 November) may get high marks for arithmetic, but only a low score for comprehension. Alan Payling (Letters, 17 November) compared his weekly wage (£6 10s 6d) with the cost of an LP (£1 12s 6d). The correct ratio is therefore 24.9%, or as Alan said “more or less a quarter of my wages”.
Bob Gunn
Kingswood, Surrey
• I cannot bear to see any more publicity for The Grand Tour, which cost £4m an hour to produce (Report, 18 November). On the previous spread you reported on care workers on 12-hour days, earning £64 a day. This programme may be escapism for some, but it makes me feel sick.
Mary Walker
St Albans, Hertfordshire
• Robert Vaughn’s real supreme moment in The Magnificent Seven (Letters, 18 November ) came later, in an echo of the fly-catching incident, when he redeemed himself by killing three of the Seven’s opponents in one single shooting round.
Marion Miller
Nantwich, Cheshire
• Perhaps HM should try crowdfunding for repairs to her palace (Queen given pay rise for £369m refit, 19 November).
Alicia Baker
London
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