I was surprised, to put it mildly, that in your report on the new 5G mast application for Stonehouse (“New plan for 5G mast”, January 4) nearly 80 per cent of your 355-word report was taken up by a verbatim PR quotation from the tech company applying for this mast!

In a parliamentary debate titled “Electromagnetic Fields: Health Effects” held in Parliament on 25 June 2019, our then much-respected MP and Stonehouse resident David Drew said the following (from Hansard): “I have met people who are incredibly affected by electromagnetic sensitivity…. People say that electromagnetic sensitivity is all psychosomatic, but I have seen the evidence of people’s sensitivity to electromagnetic waves. If we ignore it, there will certainly be health and biological consequences, and there may be many more problems.”

I would have thought that at the very least, Dr Drew’s views could have been sought on this new 5G mast proposal, to add a semblance of balance to the propaganda narrative that you published from H3G.

People need to know that the system has effectively been rigged by the government, with citizens substantially hamstrung in stopping these 5G masts through the democratic planning process. Incredibly, citizens are not allowed to object to these masts on health grounds – and this in spite of the huge number of peer-reviewed scientific studies detailing the negative health effects of 5G (soon to be presented to the high court in a high-profile judicial review led by Michael Mansfield QC). Equally incredibly, the relevance of the embarrassingly outdated ICNIRP safety guidelines on limiting exposure to electromagnetic fields, which scientists across the world have condemned, has still not been tested in a court of law.

Stonehouse residents living in the vicinity of this proposed mast will shortly be receiving literature on these issues which will help them to make an informed choice about whether they want this new 5G mast imposed on their community.

Richard House

Stroud 5G Group