Letters | 5 July 2018

Technical issues

Sir: Martin Vander Weyer’s supposition that car manufacturers are holding back investment due to Brexit seems to be wishful thinking (Any other business, 30 June). Having worked for years for one of the largest international vehicle manufacturers in both finance and export, I can assure him that the investment cycle is almost entirely to do with the product and almost not at all with political concerns.

Car manufacturers, and particularly German ones, are faced with several serious issues which have nothing to do with Brexit. The diesel emissions manipulation issue and whether diesel engines are acceptable will impact on their decisions about petrol vs diesel engine lines, and the likely share of the market available to hybrid and electric cars. Each of them will require major investment decisions by model mix.

These are very difficult and substantial medium- and long-term problems which will be occupying their minds far more, and for far longer, than the potential of a small WTO tariff. A delay in investment decisions is a sure sign that they are working on these major technical issues.
Anthony Brookes

Charlwood, Surrey

Medical cannabis

Most popular

Patrick West

Trans activists won’t be silenced by the Supreme Court ruling

Sir: Ross Clark’s bad science (‘Bad science of cannabis oil’, 23 June) perfectly demonstrates the need for better debate around the therapeutic benefits of cannabis where it is administered to treat serious and devastating diseases, such as epilepsy.

Paediatric treatment-resistant epilepsy is a cruel disease. Repeated assaults on the child’s brain, often daily and over years, can lead to severe cognitive and physical disabilities. The life expectancy of these children is short. Peer-reviewed publications since the 1970s have documented that certain cannabinoids may be effective at controlling seizures.

Billy Caldwell was prescribed Tilray’s 2:100. Unlike many other cannabis oils on the market, this is a precisely defined oral solution containing reliable and reproducible concentrations of cannabinoids including THC.