Public figures who wrote to newspapers expressing concern about the development of Concorde included Sir Alec Guinness, and Pamela Hansford Johnson, and Baroness Snow. A primary school teacher, conscientious objector and vegan from Letchworth, Hertfordshire, Richard Wiggs, wrote to "The Observer" inviting people to write to him. He received 80 letters the next day, and within a few months gave up teaching to become full-time organiser of the Anti-Concorde Project. In a letter to "The Times" in July 1967, Wiggs wrote:  Anti-Concord Project  From Richard Wiggs  Sir, Miss Pamela Hansford and Sir Alec Guinness (July 5 and 10), and many other readers of 'The Times' may be glad to know of the existence of the Anti-Concord Project, which has been founded by a group of some hundreds of people including scientists, artists, business men, civil servants, farmers, housewives, professors, M.P.s etc. who are concerned and alarmed at the efforts being made to develop supersonic aircraft. We see this as a clear case of a choice having to be made – is technology to be sanely controlled or is it to be allowed increasingly to degrade and destroy our environment? Our immediate aims are to help create in Britain a climate of public opinion in which it will be possible for the Government to terminate work upon Concord, and to press the Government to make this decision. Our further aim (in co-operation with similar movements in other countries) is to help bring about the banning of supersonic transports internationally. We shall be glad to hear from people who agree with these aims. Yours faithfully, RICHARD WIGGS, Convener. Before the new Labour government took office in October 1964 with a £700m annual deficit, Government-funded "prestige projects" such as the Concorde (with escalating costs) had been shortlisted for cancellation. The 1962 development estimates for Concorde were £150-170m, and had risen to £280m. Evidence of financial mismanagement also emerged and the UK Treasury, responsible for tracking government spending, had not been involved in drawing up the Anglo-French agreement to build Concorde, and was not represented on the Concorde Finance Committee. The British government announced the cancellation of the Concord on 19 November but rescinded it the next day due to agreements with France and to the massive layoffs that would have resulted, but did cancel other projects. Wiggs believed that a strong enough lobby might have forced the cancellation.