Irish border truths

SIR – The Irish government is being far too diplomatic and polite about the Uk-republic border (report, November 27). The official Leave campaign repeatedly promised ahead of the June 2016 referendum that there would be no change to the border.

I quote from a statement signed by two current cabinet ministers, Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, on June 1 2016 entitled “Restoring public trust in immigration policy”. It says: “As the Northern Ireland Secretary has made clear, the common travel area that has existed since the creation of an independent Irish state will not be affected. There will be no change to the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.”

It is up to the British whether we call time on the 17 impossible things we were told by the Leave campaign, but the Irish were not consulted, and are entitled to defend their interests based on realities, not delusions. Chris Huhne

London EC1

SIR – An imaginative solution to the Irish problem would be to make the whole of Northern Ireland a free trade zone with tariff-free borders with both the Republic and the British mainland.

Trade in both directions could be monitored with modern technology and major imbalances retrospectively corrected by reimbursement.

This could provide a major boost to the Northern Irish economy, which is certainly needed. Robin Pope

Winchester, Hampshire

SIR – It would be good if the EU confirmed that Northern Ireland is positively its last territorial demand in Europe. But would it be believed? Ray Cantrell

Colchester, Essex