The Government’s questionable right to strip people of EU citizenship

SIR – With Brexit, the Government will remove European citizenship from approximately 60 million British people living in Britain and elsewhere, whether they want to retain such a status or not.

European citizenship was conferred on all Europeans via the Lisbon Treaty, an agreement involving all EU member states. Given that this is the case, what is the legal basis for the British Government to claim the right to remove a citizenship it did not confer on its citizens in the first place? What would be the case if British subjects chose to renounce their British citizenship, instead of losing their European one?

Removal of citizenship by a government is an extremely serious matter, partly governed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and is usually reserved for those people guilty of the most heinous offences, such as terrorism. Removal is often followed by forced deportation.

The question of whether the Government has the right to remove EU citizenship from the British people needs to be tested thoroughly in British and European courts. Saint-Jean-de-Védas, Hérault, France SIR – I did not think leaving the European Union to take back control of our country would mean that the Prime Minister would have to ingratiate herself with Saudi Arabia, with its public beheadings and other medieval practices. Beckenham, Kent SIR – As a European living in Britain, this a very sad time for me. I will have to get over it and work to contribute to the community I live in. Britain, on the other hand, will only succeed as an independent sovereign nation if Europe grows and becomes stronger after Brexit is complete.

If there is a significant loser in this divorce then no one wins. Gosport, Hampshire SIR – Nigel Farage (Comment, April 5) is right to suggest that Gibraltar should be given the opportunity of voting for integration with Britain.

That choice should also be extended to the Falklands, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha and South Georgia, as well as such small Caribbean islands as Anguilla and Montserrat. Denmark, France and the Netherlands have had sensible relations with their overseas territories for some years now. I see no reason why Britain should not follow suit. Professor John R Porter Valerie Crews Dr Donal Collins Michael Bedford Abernon, Surrey SIR – I think that the Government should agree to return Gibraltar to Spain on condition that the other parts of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht are also reversed.

This would of course require the EU to return the Spanish Netherlands to Spain. The Spanish Netherlands included the city of Brussels. Professor William Gibson Chandlers Ford, Hampshire