The next prime minister must ban Chinese infiltration of universities

SIR – The Chinese Communist Party represents the single greatest threat to Britain and the freedom-loving West.

Our next Conservative Party leader and prime minister must understand this threat, stand up to China and take the lead on the world stage in doing so.

Britain must defend Western values, protect our infrastructure and intellectual property, and ensure the Chinese Communist Party does not infiltrate our educational institutions.

British schools and universities are too reliant on a network of Confucius Institutes – the highest number of any country – to co-ordinate teaching of Mandarin. New Confucius Institutes still open each year in Britain. In other countries, including the United States, universities are stopping partnerships with Confucius Institutes. The British Government should ban them.

Britain must also stand with our allies against Chinese cyber-threats, building on security partnerships such as Five Eyes and Aukus.

We need a leader who can create a broad alliance of countries and reduce reliance by our telecommunications on state-linked Chinese vendors. He must use every lever to help British businesses counter Chinese industrial espionage. Rishi Sunak is the leader that will take the tough action needed. Andrew Bowie MP (Con)

Alicia Kearns MP (Con)

Kevin Hollinrake MP (Con)

London SW1

SIR – The next few weeks will reveal the true calibre of Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss. Given the huge importance of the result, Conservative Party members should take their time before deciding which candidate to support. Dr Catherine Horwood London NW3

SIR – Professor Patrick Minford (report, July 23) forecasts that interest rates might rise to 7 per cent and this would only kill off “zombie companies” as it tames inflation by slowing the economy.

Geoffrey Howe in the 1980s raised interest rates to 17 per cent, when, as well as killing weak companies, it also destroyed swathes of good ones, greatly to our economic detriment.

There is no mathematical correlation between raising interest rates and stopping inflation. It is just a blunt instrument that can have very perverse results. As the cost of mortgages rockets, so does demand for inflation-adjusted wages, and thus fuel is added to the inflationary fire.

Today, when our inflation is largely caused by the surging price of energy and grain (recently compounded by Rishi Sunak’s National Insurance and Living Wage rises, on top of green taxes), putting up interest rates severely would repeat the mistakes of history.

So Liz Truss is right to learn from the past. She deserves wide support. Lord Vinson

Alnwick, Northumberland

SIR – Instead of raising taxes, how about cutting expenditure? Graham Francis