Recovery depends on the City

SIR - The EU is using the financial situation to insist on additional regulation of banking, insurance and securities. They feel sure that a disgruntled public will back them on this. The consequences, however, could be catastrophic for the UK. Already,

SIR - The EU is using the financial situation to insist on additional regulation of banking, insurance and securities. They feel sure that a disgruntled public will back them on this.

The consequences, however, could be catastrophic for the UK. Already, the EU's new capital adequacy rules for the insurance industry, entitled Solvency 2, are predicted to cut the value of our private pensions by 20 per cent.

Now, they propose to create three new 'super-regulators' who will oversee financial services, reporting to a 'supreme regulator' in Brussels.

The recovery of the UK economy depends absolutely on our primary export earner - the unparalleled financial expertise in the City. Only by enabling it to rebuild itself, with lessons learned and some sensible additional regulation, will the UK be able to come out of recession.

The EU is hell-bent on preventing it. The government is not defending our interests in any meaningful sense.

Only a flat refusal to participate in the new regulatory regime - and if necessary, withdrawal - will save us from this.

Stephen Crowther

Heanton Punchardon,