Britain must steel itself for the future

At last, someone who articulates a clear plan for the steel we will need in future (Letters, 15 April). Prof Euan G Nisbet’s plan to keep Scunthorpe’s blast furnaces going for a few more years while Britain’s best brains devise a way to turn iron ore into hi-tech steels provides hope for the breakthroughs needed to guarantee long-term futures for Scunthorpe and Port Talbot, and to meet our net zero ambitions. Jenny Rathbone Labour Senedd member for Cardiff Central • The buccaneering story of how Scunthorpe’s furnaces were saved is enthralling (British Steel on a razor’s edge: inside Starmer’s Scunthorpe rescue mission, 18 April), but one aspect bothers me. If all the raw materials are imported (coke, iron ore) then what is the gain in supply security – the ostensible justification – over importing steel processed at source, which is surely more efficient? Dr Kimon Roussopoulos Cambridge • I find that singing the Canadian national anthem at full volume is very effective in stopping people playing music without headphones in public places, if polite requests fail (Letters, 13 April). I’m sure other anthems will suffice. Judith Margaret Steiner London • When someone complains about the price of newspapers, including this one, I say it’s less than a cup of coffee (It’s the economic end times, so obviously I’m thinking about my takeaway coffee, 17 April)! Terry Bates London • Relief from hay fever (Letters, 18 April)? A light touch of Vaseline under the nostrils and the same under the eyes. Cheap, and it works. Andrew Joslin Trowbridge • Do you have a photograph you’d like to share with Guardian readers? If so, please click here to upload it. A selection will be published in our Readers’ best photographs galleries and in the print edition on Saturdays.