Blame for Brexit mess lies with Boris

BREXIT is a mess and a smooth exit from the EU would have been good for both ourselves and Europe, according to John Hodgkins (December 13).

Brexit is legally and politically what was agreed in the Withdrawal Agreement and agreement on non-tariff trade in goods.

If it is a mess from the UK point of view the blame is on the UK negotiators and the UK Government for having concluded these agreements.

It is significant that the Northern Ireland Protocol which enshrines the border down the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK was questioned unilaterally by the UK, which threatened to suspend the agreement only months after it came into force. EU Ministers are not the only ones using inflammatory language.

Michel Barnier’s views on the EU, which Mr Hodgkins quotes, didn’t do him much good in his quest to become French President, he couldn’t even manage to win the leadership of his own party a few days ago.

As for Macron’s statement that if at the time of Brexit the French had held a referendum they would have voted to leave, I think he got that wrong, as although a majority of French voters expressed dissatisfaction with the EU the polls showed that the majority were still in favour of remaining members.

Of course one of the reasons some voted for the UK to leave was to regain parliamentary sovereignty, surely having referendums contradicts that anyway.

I don’t know who or what Mr Hodgkins will blame next for Brexit being what he calls ‘a terrible mess’ but as far as I’m concerned it is Boris Johnson and his Government, they are the ones who signed the agreement on our behalf.

AW, Gosforth