From Graham Lascelles, Wootton:

There is a saying, if you have to mention the war you have lost the argument. Jonathan Young in his one-sided column “An overview of Brexit — and it is bad,” does so on a number of occasions.

His assertion is that it is the Common Market and EU that have prevented wars within Europe. Nothing to do with NATO then, which was formed in 1949, and the nuclear deterrent but everything to do with the Common Market which only came into existence in 1957 and the EU in 1993?

I don’t know if you watched Question Time (17-01-19)? And here was me thinking I was alone in harbouring the “heretic” idea it might be a rational and good choice, given anything like the present deal, to leave the EU without a deal. I say alone because it seems to me that 95 per cent of the comments allowed, particularly on TV, are all preceded with the introduction of “A Damaging No Deal”. Every interviewee precedes their comments with the two words, disastrous and catastrophic.

Maybe it is just me but I am always suspicious, like police investigating a crime, when all the suspects come out with exactly the same phrase. Have you noticed how all the panic is choreographed and drip fed to the public twice daily. The assumption is presumably that if it is repeated often enough at a high enough volume everyone will believe it is true.

I never did believe the promises on the side of the bus. I know some of those campaigning to leave spent too much. But if that skewed the outcome how much was it skewed in the other direction by the government’s 18-page booklet of reasons to stay in, delivered to every household in the land, at a cost to the taxpayer of £ 9.3 million?

It is easy to apply the worst motives to those who oppose your ideas. Perhaps we should only comment on what we know. I did not vote to ban needed immigration, just unlimited immigration.

I am not against Paul Juncker’s idea of Britain paying for her round of drinks. Less pleased when we have been buying drinks for everyone else all evening. I am in favour of trade and take the simple view that, in or out of the EU, if we can provide goods and services that are better and cheaper than competitors we will prosper, if not we will fail.

The most important reason I voted out was the wish to, metaphorically, live in my own house with my own rules and front door key, and not to live in the communal EU flat.

I was ready for the EU to give us a bad deal. It was never in their interest to have their cash cow depart. Maybe their strategy is just to do everything to keep us in. Is a club that will not let you leave best described as a cult?

I expected, like leaving my parents’ home, there would be some short-term loss, but I did not expect the opposition at any cost, from those who never accepted the democratic vote.

Now is the time to decide are the public the servants of parliament, or is parliament the servant of the people?

If you are going down a motorway in a coach and a majority choose to turn off to Reading, whose fault is it if there is a crash if others keep grabbing the steering wheel from the driver?

As to all the scare stories of a No deal, we already export to non-EU countries, so why would it be more difficult to export to Europe?

It has already been agreed planes will continue to fly.

Is it not our choice if we choose to delay imports of medicines and fresh food?   Perhaps the 60-mile traffic jam at Dover will, like their expensive demonstration, turn out to be business as usual.

As to security, we already co-operate with many countries bi-laterally, why would we stop? We elect MPs, why would we allow them to trash environmental and work standards, which seem to be a mantra for the Labour Party?

Along with much else, a No-Deal Brexit gives us choice. Would it be falling off a cliff edge, or a steep slope to an early conclusion? As to the Irish border and much else it then becomes the EU’s problem.

If the EU had been more flexible in the first place there might have been no referendum. Take Britain for fools and see what you get.

Editor’s footnote: Mr Lascelles’ letter was one of several long ones taking Mr Young to task.