YOUR report (May 5) concerning safety issues at Fawley oil refinery accurately recorded what I said to your reporter in phrases printed within quotation marks.

On such a serious matter, as you would expect, I chose my words very carefully, and it was therefore disappointing that these were embellished by emotive expressions such as "stand up and be counted'' - which became the main headline - and even "there is no smoke without fire''! I should like to make it clear, for the record, that these were phrases which I did not use.

Safety at such a vital site is something which should always be discussed in a calm and measured way.

DR JULIAN LEWIS, MP for New Forest East.