We already have control of our borders

During the Brexit referendum campaign we were continually told that leaving the European Union would allow us “to take control” of Britain’s borders. Many people cited this as a reason for voting Leave.

It appeared that any undesirable, terrorist or otherwise, from the EU and beyond who wanted to enter Britain could just walk in, thanks to some undefined EU structure, and despite the UK not being a member of the Schengen area.

However, your news story reporting the deportation of far-right German Pegida leader Lutz Bachmann along with other distasteful individuals shows the Leave claim for the lie it was.

As a Home Office spokesperson said: “Border Force has the power to refuse entry to an individual if it is

considered that his or her presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good.” So why was this outrageous lie about any EU citizen being able to enter Britain allowed to perpetuate?

Despite the claims of the Leave campaign, anybody who has travelled outside the UK must surely have realised that documentation must be shown to enter the UK mainland. This has always been the case. I show my passport to multiple UK border officials many times each year. How can anybody who travels have been duped into thinking anything else?

Michael O’Hare Middlesex