SIR - Am I the only one who sees the stupidity of the question asked in Parliament: "Are the envisaged nuclear power stations going to be paid for by the country or private enterprise"?

Of course they are going to be paid for by the country. Does it make any difference whether they are paid for by tax, which I will have to pay, or by private enterprise, which I will have to pay for by increased electricity charges?

The main difference is that if they were built and run by the government, any profits made would go back to the tax payer.

If built and run by private enterprise, they will be run for the maximum amount of profit the market will stand.

There is nothing wrong in this, as that is how business works, but the government would run it as a service, with no shareholders to keep happy.

Either way we are going to have to pay, it is just that under private enterprise it will cost more.

A G Goldsbrough, Dale Court, Fieldway, Ilkley