FIRST the good news. The government is going to build two 60,000-ton carriers for the Royal Navy. It is unfortunate that up to seven RN ships will have to be sold in order to pay for the carriers.

Never mind. The new carriers will give work and employment to Britain?s otherwise redundant shipyards, wont they? Not exactly. According to the financial press, the order for the ships will go to the French-owned consortium, Thales, which is 33 per cent owned by the French government.

The cost of building the carriers will be 2-8 billion, but a further £7 billion will be spent on service support. Sophisticated computer systems will be lost to British firms like BAE.

It is reported that senior people in the government want the order to go to Thales. Why? Thales employs 12,000 people in this country and it threatened to withdraw from the UK if it doesn?t get the order, that?s why.

Of course, if we want to be at the centre of the EU we must give in to the French even if it destroys British industry.

J W Reid

Limehayes Road

Okehampton