Putin’s blunder

SIR – Your columnist Fraser Nelson (“Salisbury was a triumph for Putin”, Comment, September 7) has a strange idea of “triumph” in reference to Russia’s involvement in the attacks.

The attempted termination of Sergei Skripal was an intemperate act of foolishness that has caused Moscow immense damage to no purpose. Up to 150 Russian diplomats have been expelled from a range of Western capital cities. Every targeted Russian was an active officer of the intelligence agencies GRU or SVR.

It takes years and years to build up networks of “sleeper” agents who are then “handled” or “run” by direction from inside the embassy. Many native-born sleepers (the real spies so loved by the media) will only trust their accustomed handler or his introduced successor. The devastation caused to President Putin’s espionage networks by these expulsions are a catastrophic price to pay for one retired old renegade – and even then the operation failed. Skripal and his daughter lived. Frederick Forsyth

Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire

SIR – Any reassurance in knowing that the GCHQ chief is plotting revenge on Russia is considerably tempered by its appearance as a news item. Gordon Brown

Grassington, North Yorkshire