EU gas hypocrisy

sir – Regarding Russia’s threat to withhold gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, Tony Lowery (Letters, May 2) says: “If [Vladimir Putin] wishes to sell energy to the EU, he must trade equally with all or none.”

Sadly, Russia has not been doing that for many years. Germany negotiated a separate pricing arrangement that gives it a sizeable discount on gas, meaning the German economy has had an unfair commercial advantage over its “friends and partners” in the EU for two decades.

This rank hypocrisy is conveniently ignored by Lord Heseltine, Alastair Campbell and others who still want Britain to return to that illiberal and undemocratic Franco-german stitch-up.

Steve Narancic

Wantage, Oxfordshire