I WOULD like to clarify what our aims were at our recent protest outside the Barclays Bank branch in North Street, Brighton (The Argus, May 10).

World Development Movement research has found that Barclays is the UK’s leading bank in food speculation.

In the past few years, speculators have flooded food markets with billions of dollars to gamble on price increases, creating an artificial demand, which is completely detached from the real situation.

For example, the price of wheat has increased by 60% in the past year. The irony here is that there is no global shortage in the supply of wheat.

Rising food prices are bad enough for people in the UK, but they are disastrous for people in the poorest countries who are being pushed into greater hunger and poverty.

The EU is currently discussing regulation; even the US government has passed laws to curb this immoral activity.

We are calling on the UK Government to regulate by introducing strict position limits and complete transparency.

Further information can be found here: www.wdm.org.uk/ food-speculation.

Susanne Schuster, Brighton and Hove World Development Movement, Valley Drive, Brighton