AFTER reading your second editorial on Saturday (“A nuclear weapon-free world is truly a noble goal”, The Herald, December 9), I was prompted to watch the live screening of the Nobel Peace Prize award.

As I write I am weeping from a mixture of joy and distress caused by the brilliant speeches from Berit Reiss-Anderson, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Beatrice Fihn of International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and Setsuko Thurlow, an 85-year-old survivor of Hiroshima. Ms Fihn, in her acceptance speech, is quoted as saying “nuclear war is one tiny tantrum away”.

Nuclear armed states of the world must be brought to their senses to avoid “global assured destruction”, which would be exactly that. The United Nations has in place the Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons supported by more than the two-thirds of members. Let us hope the UK will wake up to this reality and join the vast majority of the world in being nuclear free and un-threatened.

Sandra Phelps,

10 Kelvin Drive, Glasgow.