SIR — The shambles that was the inaugural preliminary meeting of the IPC commissioners last Wednesday (March 21) into the new nuclear power station proposal for Hinkley Point demonstrated the contempt with which ordinary local people, not familiar with formalised legalistic argument, were routinely denied opportunity to fully express their views.   

Certainly, this was no meeting for democratic participation with a chair anxious to hear a wide range of views expressed or to accommodate the physical inadequacies of the venue.

Appointee Andrew Phillipson, who chaired the meeting, consistently contradicted his notice of and invite to the meeting and struggled to contain contributions to the narrow item of timetabling the IPC process.   

Ignoring his own duties under the Planning Act 2008, he failed to allow and deliberately interrupted and terminated contributions from the floor expressing concern at and in particular on hearing representations about the way in which the application is to be examined, as is his duty.   

While my own contribution was prematurely halted by the turning off of the microphones, others questioning the lack of nuclear experience in the panel's personnel were ignored.   

The nuclear industry must be getting enormous encouragement, as they realise the lack of understanding the IPC panel has on nuclear issues - it is not even able to distinguish between a planned and unplanned nuclear event, does not know what areas are covered by regulatory authorities or not, and told the local audience that health risks to local children were irrelevant!

We must all wonder about the legality of this process, as no one, even local councils, knows what areas of scrutiny different organisations are responsible for.

The industry's army of respectable men in suits, who for years have infiltrated the local community and schools with promises of money, wealth, jobs and cheap energy which they cannot possibly keep, have persuaded the representatives of local communities to sacrifice their way of life to satisfy the selfish energy demands of London and the South East.   

With Government ministers and local politicians in full vocal support of this new nuclear enterprise, our own immediate and long term safety has no independent assessors to rely on, and there can be little hope at present of any full or thorough testing of the concerns, rights and wrongs, safety or otherwise, of nuclear power or its application in this case.

Charles Graham,

West Somerset Green Party.