The EU must shoulder its share of the blame for the Brexit imbroglio

sir – One of the more depressing aspects of the Brexit saga has been the way the narrative has focused on the weakness of the British negotiators rather than the intransigence of their EU counterparts. Theresa May was definitely the wrong leader at the wrong time, but I wonder if any other leader would have done substantially better.

The EU’S “Gang of Three” (chief negotiator Michel Barnier, Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, and Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s Brexit coordinator) have shown arrogance and hostility throughout the process.

Certainly, leaving under World Trade Organisation rules – the so-called “no deal” option – would be disruptive in the short term, but once Brexit has been achieved a new reality would be created. The debate will soon be over and we will have to come together to deal with the facts on the ground. Terry Bannister

London N20 sir – Boris Johnson (Comment, March 11) claims that the EU has treated Britain with “contempt”.

Surely its negotiators have merely reached the conclusion that they have everything to gain and nothing to lose by playing hardball in a mismatch between a large, international trading bloc and a small nation that has cut itself adrift from its allies. Paul D Smith

Enfield, Middlesex

sir – Many among the electorate must now crave a chance to pronounce on Parliament’s ineptitude in delivering Brexit and on our current representatives.

I cannot recall a Parliament as thoroughly moribund, and a spring clean would allow for a welcome breath of fresh air. Professor Ben Green

Meols, Wirral

sir – It is reported (March 12) that there has been a significant increase in the number of voters who wish to leave the EU irrespective of whether a deal can be agreed by March 29.

There is much to dislike about the way in which the EU has evolved from a group of nations seeking the economic benefits of cooperation, to become an unaccountable political entity intent on a federal future. However, the reality of leaving without an agreement is increasingly seen to be damaging – perhaps extremely damaging, in terms of job losses. Jeff Roberts

Gosport, Hampshire

sir – As MPS grapple with Brexit, they should recall the words of Francis Bacon in 1625: “It is a strange desire to seek power and to lose liberty.” Trevor Hudson

London SW1

sir – Is it not now time for Mrs May to propose to the EU that the matter be settled using the time-honoured method of rock, paper, scissors? Richard Holloway

Bristol