Brexit and the NHS

SIR – You report (October 16) that the NHS could be saddled with an extra burden of £500million if thousands of British citizens living in the EU lose their reciprocal health rights in the event of a “no deal” and return here.

Why should that be so when Britain currently pays for any treatment they receive in the EU? Angus Falconer

Kilmington, Devon

SIR – In her piece on Brexit progress (Business, October 4), Helen Dickinson, the CEO of the British Retail Consortium, calls for a trade agreement with the EU to keep the price of groceries down. Three quarters of our food comes from Europe, and she fears that we will be hit by sky-high grocery bills if we cannot secure a free-trade deal.

When we have left the EU, however, the levels of any tariffs applied to our imports will be set by the British Government, not the EU, and EU tariffs will not apply. Food prices in the EU are also kept high and protected by tariffs to keep out cheaper food from elsewhere. Wine imported from outside the EU, for example, is taxed at 32 per cent, which is now included in the price we pay for it in the shops.

These taxes will not apply when we have left, and food prices will go down. It is estimated that our GDP will benefit by a reduction of 7 per cent in costs. If the British Retail Consortium compares the present situation with the position when we leave, it will find that prices will fall and we do not need an EU agreement to achieve that. Michael Chelk

Ipswich, Suffolk

SIR – The EU is a club, not a marriage. I did not vote for “till death do us part”.

As for Jean-claude Juncker’s remarks, we will of course pay for our round of drinks when it is our turn. What we object to is the way Brussels has put several rounds of drinks on our tab without telling us. Jenny Burrington

Great Bookham, Surrey