Sir – Dr Alan Russell (Letters, April 25) cannot have been present at the Congregation debate in 1985.

There was no ‘shrill hatred’ of Margaret Thatcher. Only sadness that such a brilliant woman and undoubtedly great politician could nevertheless do such severe damage to science and education in the UK.

The normally cautious president of The Royal Society, Sir Andrew Huxley, described the situation as ‘alarming’, the secretary of the Medical Research Council, Sir James Gowans, described the cuts to research as ‘draconian’.

The great majority of the Nobel laureates of Britain were worried, so were over 100 Fellows of The Royal Society and 1,500 other scientists who paid £20 each from their own pockets to purchase an advertisement in The Times to ‘Save British Science’.

The atmosphere after the vote which overwhelmingly declined the degree was serious and thoughtful.

The question on people’s minds was how to reverse the damage. We launched a serious campaign that has been running effectively for nearly 30 years to achieve that.

Denis Noble CBE FRS, Oxford