LAST week in the full council meeting I asked a question about the threat to our water supply in Southampton through the addition of fluoride.

The answer given was that nobody yet knows whether this is going to happen, not because of residents’ opposition, but because it hinges on when the contract was signed.

More than a year ago the council passed a Liberal Democrat motion rejecting the addition of fluoride, but the decision was then taken out of our hands. Now it appears to be in the hands of lawyers.

In view of the evidence that the addition of this chemical to our drinking water is at the very least making no difference to the amount of dental decay, and at the worst could cause medical problems such as thyroid disease, it is surely right that the decision on fluoride should be made by the local community, and this what Government has advised.

The established fact is that most of Europe does not add fluoride in any form to water, and that the same fall in tooth decay has happened whether the drinking water is free of fluoride or not. This is clearly seen in graphs published by the World Health Organisation.

We need to continue to be firm in our opposition to this unnecessary pollution of our water supply.

MAUREEN TURNER, Lib Dem councillor, Swaythling.