The EU sees British concessions on Brexit as a weakness to be exploited

SIR – Much criticism of Theresa May’s speech in Florence about our arrangements for leaving the EU is misdirected. We were already so enmeshed in the EU, its laws and regulations that escaping with minimal damage was inevitably complicated. Indeed, had we remained in the EU much longer, withdrawal would have soon become virtually impossible without great trauma.

There are two reasons for our difficulties. First, successive governments failed to carry the people with them when signing new integrationist treaties. They used excuses such as that the wording of treaties was too complicated for mere voters to understand. In reality, they feared that the voters, if consulted, might give the “wrong” answer.

Secondly, David Cameron’s administration failed to make any preparations for a vote to leave the EU, confident in his ability to win the referendum with the backing of the whole government machine.

The main danger now is that the EU

negotiators will grab all concessions, and, sensing weakness, will insist on much more. Unfortunately, Remainers are encouraging them to offer such bad terms that calls for a second referendum may grow stronger.

Mrs May’s proposals are reasonable and must not be the start of a tsunami of concessions. We must stand firm.

John S Burton

Puerto Pollenca, Mallorca, Spain

SIR – Richard Tice, the co-chairman of Leave Means Leave, highlights the dangers of letting Brussels boss Britain around (Comment, September 27).

The greatest danger is that, despite the Prime Minister’s best, sincere efforts, Brussels is leading us merrily to its carefully constructed cliff edge. It wants us to believe that beyond it lies disaster, rather than freedom, prosperity and much greater political accountability at home.

Brussels knows that for its undemocratic bureaucracy to survive, Brexit must fail.

We need to strap on our parachute

and be ready to jump. Only when Brussels realises that we have the confidence to pull the cord and open the chute will it stop bossing us about.

Lord Shinkwin

London SW1

SIR – I have just read Yanis Varoufakis’s book Adults in the Room and I see many similarities between the Greek negotiations and ours. At the end of meetings, Greece (or now the UK) would say there had been progress and the EU would say there wasn’t enough.

The EU never says what it wants, just that what is offered is not enough. These are not negotiations but a running down of the clock in the hope that, like Greece, we’ll capitulate.

But the UK is a much, much bigger problem than Greece. We are the fifthlargest economy in the world and one of the major trading partners of the EU, with whom we run a huge deficit.

I fear that the only aim is to punish the UK for wanting to leave the bloc.

Bryce Mitchell

Chorleywood, Hertfordshire