Why is Britain being denied the chance in this crisis to develop its own gas supplies?

SIR – In view of the massive gas-price rise and the lack of storage capacity, why have the bureaucrats in office refused permission for Shell to develop its Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea?

No amount of woolly jumpers will keep my nose warm in the cold damp winter if I can’t afford heating.

John Procter

Poole, Dorset

SIR – In all the woke green babble about ceasing gas heating, there has been little mention of all the gas cookers that will have to be replaced if gas ceases to be piped to houses.

Do we have the capability to replace the hundreds of thousands of these cookers? Can we afford to do it after paying for the changes to solely electric heating?

Richard W Turner

Nazeing, Essex

SIR – “Natural gas prices swung wildly on Wednesday as Vladimir Putin vowed to boost supplies to Europe” – if Germany gives a licence to the new Nord Stream gas pipeline (Business, October 6).

Of course Mr Putin is using his gas reserves as a geopolitical weapon. He must be laughing his head off at the naivety of Germany and the failure of the United States to continue sanctions against its completion.

Why invest billions in a new pipeline when there is already one which does a perfectly good job? It is simply to deny the Ukraine a much needed source of revenue, which will undermine the country’s economic stability and allow Mr Putin to pursue his interests in regaining control.

Let us hope no licence is granted before the new coalition government is agreed in Germany, with the prospect that the Greens and Free Democrats will oppose it.

Dr Ian Ward

Hartley, Kent

SIR – Thanks to British and European politicians pushing so hard and fast for the elimination of fossil fuels in order to slow or stop climate change, Vladimir Putin has, without a shot being fired, gained control of the European and British economies.

Mr Putin has been helped somewhat by China, which, while claiming reduced coal usage, is buying up liquid gas as fast as it can.

The policy of eliminating fossil fuels seeks to do so too quickly, and until the lost energy sources are replaced it will condemn Britain and Europe to years of misery. For Britain, more gas from the North Sea and shale oil, together with more renewable energy sources, could help tide us over until mininuclear reactors are up and running. Nigel Randall Bourton-on-the-water, Gloucestershire

SIR – It’s easy to find energy companies that claim to supply 100 per cent renewable electricity. Now these companies are using rising gas prices as an excuse for raising their prices. You’d be forgiven for thinking that they’ve been lying all along.

Geoff Moore

Alness, Ross and Cromarty

SIR – When is Tesco going to start levelling up by charging the same prices at its local One Stop stores as it does at its supermarkets – thereby encouraging local shopping and reducing car journeys?

Chris Penney

Wellington, Somerset