Britain has long picked up the tab for other members of the EU club

SIR – Jean-claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, has compared Brexit with buying a round of drinks for 28 people in a pub and then discovering that one person wants to leave without paying.

His analogy has a serious flaw. British taxpayers have paid for more rounds of drinks than the majority of other EU members. Consequently, they are entitled to leave the bar with no outstanding financial obligations. In fact, they are due a rebate. Michael Shaw Grimsby, Lincolnshire

SIR – Jean-claude Juncker’s assertion that one wouldn’t leave a pub without paying for multiple beers may or may not be correct.

However, at least the pub customer would know precisely what he owes, it being a legal requirement for pubs to display prices clearly. Alan Crowest Diss, Norfolk

SIR – Any commitments made under the current EU budget period were made by the EU as a corporate body, not by individual member states.

It will be recalled that, during negotiations, Britain argued strongly but in vain that the EU budget should be reduced rather than increased.

As a result, Britain cannot be regarded as legally or morally committed to that budget except as a member of the EU. Our liability ceases when we cease to be a member. Mike Keatinge Sherborne, Dorset

SIR – Philip Hammond was clearly wrong in publicly referring to the EU’S Brexit negotiators as “the enemy” (report, October 14), and right in making an appropriate apology.

However, to many people, that must be how it feels. The EU appears to be intransigent in its negotiating style. As a result, EU negotiators should be given an ultimatum. If discussions do not start shortly on trade (and other outstanding issues), and are not concluded by the first anniversary of the invocation of Article 50, then Britain will cease negotiations and take the “hard exit” option. Andrew J Smith

West Malling, Kent

SIR – Philip Hammond shows his lack of experience in engaging harmoniously with other EU countries. Paneuropean and Uk-based companies happily do business together. They are not our enemies; they are our friends, associates and business partners.

An apology from the Chancellor is insufficient. Simon Lever Winchester, Hampshire

SIR – Politicians seem to forget that the EU referendum was not about party politics. It was about the will of 33million individuals.

Perhaps now is the time to form a government of national unity with the mandate to deliver the best possible outcome from the Brexit negotiations. Stephen Millman Sutton Coldfield