Another thing – let’s have your fish, says the EU

SIR – Edward Heath gave away British fishing rights as his last play to get in to the Common Market.

I can’t believe that Theresa May (report, November 9) is going to give them away again in order that we might exit the European Union.

Romsey, Hampshire

SIR – Since Edward Heath’s covert fishing deal with the Spanish, illicit fishing of sand eels (Danes), scallops (French) and general flouting of net mesh sizes and territory violations have damaged fish stocks and international maritime relations.

Now is an ideal time to place the industry on level fishing ground, with defined territorial water boundaries.

Windsor, Berskhire

SIR – Non, non, non. No deal. No money. No fish.

Godalming, Surrey

SIR – Mrs May should immediately announce a rescue package for the Appledore shipyard to build a fleet of fishery-protection vessels.

No more petty scallop incidents – it’s time for the gloves to come off.

Wells, Somerset

SIR – Your front-page report yesterday, “EU demands right to fish after Brexit”, caused my hackles to rise. But then I thought more about it and realised that the politicians and civil servants negotiating on our behalf have been so indecisive and have backtracked so much that the EU feels that it has the opportunity to make demands.

Cardiff SIR – There is shortly to be a Cabinet meeting at which top civil servants, through their mouthpiece Theresa May, will attempt to pressure probrexit ministers to accept a draft deal with the EU.

The deal will be dressed up as necessary and reasonable, and will be replete with seemingly strong reassurances, but in reality it will be a craven sell-out and the specious reassurances will in due course evaporate.

The key point for the pro-brexit ministers continuously to bear in mind is that the civil servants providing the cunningly crafted wordings are not to be trusted.

Recently, we have had a parade of former and current top mandarins complaining about attacks on the impartiality and integrity of top civil servants. These complaints conveniently ignore the fact that the attacks have not been based on mere paranoia but on actual events, such as the secret preparation of the Chequers proposal behind David Davis’s back.

Ministers must remain constantly on their guard against mandarins, with whatever motivation, being “economical with the truth”.

London NW11

SIR – Am I alone in wondering how something quite so footling as the Irish border can stop us leaving the European Union?

Michael A St Clair-george

Rye, East Sussex

SIR – Do the EU powers ever ask themselves why so-called populists are gaining support in European countries?

Chichester, West Sussex