HOW the Government must be welcoming the furore about horsemeat forming the basis of so many beef-based products, because this scandal is diverting attention from a far more serious problem.

This is the approaching threat to our power supply. Several conventional coal-fired power stations are due to be shut down in the near future with a massive reduction of available power.

This ludicrous situation has arisen thanks to our lack of an energy policy; the EU saying that CO2 levels for Britain are too high and must be reduced; and the all-powerful Greens insisting there are alternatives, such as wind and tidal power.

Wind-powered turbines are, at best, a tiny power supplier and at worst (when the wind is too high or not there at all) totally useless. Tidal power would be a strong contender, but this technology is too many years away to be considered.

Rather than building a superfluous and unneeded HS2 railway, all this money and effort should be concentrated on solving the looming power shortages.

Philip Roe, Roman Avenue South, Stamford Bridge, York.