Sally Reynolds (letters, May 3) makes some startling claims regarding pacifism and defence.

She claims that Trident submarines are "useless" because if they were ever used, there would be a nuclear war which would destroy us all. Has she never heard of the word "deterrent?" 

It is the "big stick" which ensures that mad or bad tyrants like Kim Jong-un do not use their nuclear weapons.

Of course no sane person would ever wish to use a nuclear weapon. The whole point is not to use them.

Ms Reynolds is "appalled" at the UK's current level of defence spending. I am appalled too, however for the opposite reason, namely how far Mr Cameron and previous PMs have cut back our defences, to the point where we would barely be able to defend our country.

By her logic, in the 1930s while Hitler was secretly building up his armed forces, we should have been disarming. Oh wait – that is exactly what we were doing.

Winston Churchill stood up in the House of Commons in 1934 to point out this discrepancy, and they called him a warmonger. Yet how right he was. 

As it happens we only just managed to build enough Spitfires and Hurricanes in time to save our nation, and hence the whole free world.

Ms Reynolds claims "if you prepare for war, you get war". By contrast I prefer this maxim: "If you want peace, prepare for war".

STEPHEN NASH
Washington Terrace, Middle Barton