Wilkins deserves more credit

But it was less than fair to the late Maurice Wilkins, whom I knew and worked with although I know nothing about his relations with Franklin except what I have read in different places.

It should be recorded that Professor Wilkins, who had been a member of the Communist Party before the second world war, remained firmly on the left and was an active trade unionist and a consistent campaigner for nuclear disarmament and world peace all the rest of his life.

He was a member of the Russell committee against nuclear weapons, a founder member of CND, an active member of the Pugwash movement and a vice-president of the World Federation of Scientific Workers.

He was a quiet, shy, modest man, and I was privileged to have known him.

Chris Birch

London SW6