Letting rip

SIR – Odo Saunders is wrong when he says that DNA has conclusively proved that Aaron Kosminski was the Ripper (Letters, June 26).

Sir Alec Jeffreys, the founding father of genetic fingerprinting, is not alone in stating that basic mistakes were made when scientists analysed DNA from a shawl allegedly found near the body of a Ripper victim, Catherine Eddowes.

Kosminski was identified as the principal suspect by police from the early days, and he remains so to this day – but the jury is still out, and Ripperologists may continue to enjoy speculating with impunity. Nicholas Young London W13