SIR - I am sickened, if not surprised, by Tony Blair's brazen attempt to bolster the cause of Trident even further.

The sheer hypocrisy of such a venture is absurd. On one hand we have the government denouncing so-called rogue states' such as Iran for even considering nuclear power, yet with the other hand New Labour (along with help from the Conservatives) launch a retrograde attempt at reassuring the public.

Then there is the cost. A sum of £20 billion is the official figure; in reality, coupled with replacing nuclear submarines, acquiring new missiles and maintaining the system over its 30-year lifespan this figure approaches £76 billion.

We need to see the explicit link between the cost of Trident and our everyday lives, be it education (60,000 more teachers could be employed for the next five years), health (similarly 120,000 could be employed along with another 30 hospitals built) or public services (50,000 firefighters could be employed for the next five years).

The cost of replacing Trident is colossal for a system which only serves as a symbolic show of strength; or should that read stupidity?

Luke Staunton, Bierley Lane, Bierley, Bradford