Horror of first strike by Trident

WE ACCEPT that he is a polemicist, but it is truly terrifying to see that Gerald Warner seems genuinely unaware that Trident is a first strike weapon (Strictly Speaking, 12 May). This basically means we have to get our retaliation in first – just like Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

Of course, we can hope that if we are attacked, somewhere out at sea a submarine may be able to unleash revenge that generations a millennium from now may glory in or deeply regret. The problem for the sub is, will it have a base to return to? Faslane?

Douglas Turner, Edinburgh