SIR – The dubious benefits of smart meters, which are to be fitted for control of domestic electricity, are now, rightly, the subject of media attention.

Smart meters have long been a pet subject of the EU, which has issued two directives on this issue and has a long-term plan to make smart meters mandatory.

It is not just a UK issue. Whether the expense of these meters is worth the real savings is very doubtful, but few realise that the threat behind these meters is far greater.

In a well-attended meeting of the Smart Energy Demand Coalition in Brussels last month, Fiona Hall MEP went further and revealed that the EU is planning meters which will monitor and remotely control even individual household appliances. Manuel Sanchez, a commissioner from the energy department, arrogantly joked that huge sums had already been spent in research, and pilot projects in Sweden and Italy, and cited a figure of 5.5 billion euros.

It seems that our electricity bills will go up, but due to EU directives and regulations, control of our own lives will go down.

Godfrey Bloom, UKIP MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, Main Street, Wressle, Selby