Independent on Sunday, 4 Oct 2015:

George Osborne’s determination to ignore human rights is only part of the problem (This Tory China syndrome is a new low Sept 27). The real issue is that he appears completely oblivious to China’s appalling record on health and safety.

The recent explosion at Tianjin in Northern China  killed over 100 people. The site contained illegal stores of Sodium cyanide which has contaminated the local water In October David Cameron is scheduled to sign a deal with President Xi Jinping  which will allow Chinese companies to  secure a significant stake in the building  of nuclear power plants in the UK. It is even more difficult  to build and operate nuclear facilities safely. Over the past 60 years we have witnessed major accidents  at  Windscale, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima. These all occurred in  nations with advanced technologies and well developed health and safety programmes.  No doubt the Chinese deal will be accompanied by the usual fanfare over British jobs, but it should also be seen as the ultimate triumph of free market ideology over the safety of the UK population.

Dr Robin Russell-Jones
Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire