Madam - Malcolm Byrne (August 25th) makes the common mistake of quoting only a fragment of Winston Churchill's Zurich speech on a so-called United States of Europe.
As Churchill made clear at Zurich and in later speeches, his vision of a united Europe did not include Britain. "We [meaning Britain] are with Europe but not of it. We are linked but not comprised." Europe would be a partnership between France and Germany, he said. "We must build a kind of United States of Europe. Great Britain, the British Commonwealth of Nations, mighty America must be friends and sponsors of the new Europe," he said. Britain would be a "friend and sponsor" but not a member. - Yours, etc,
MARY ELLEN SYNON, Dublin 4.