Everyone will lose out if the EU takes a punitive approach to Brexit

SIR – If the European Union chooses to take a punitive approach to Brexit negotiations, it will undoubtedly damage our economy as well as those within the bloc.

However, a decision by the EU to put high-minded principle above common sense would also show why it was necessary to leave. C H Davies Chertsey, Surrey

SIR – There has been much talk of a “soft” or “hard” Brexit. To most people who voted to leave, the whole affair is being over-complicated by those who still want us to remain.

The UK is one of the biggest economies in the world, is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and has immense international standing. By contrast, the EU is in dire economic straits and in danger of imploding.

Our bilateral trading relations reflect an imbalance in the EU’s favour. Our position is strong. We should approach negotiations with confidence and aim for a sensible, amicable outcome. A reasonable time frame will benefit everyone.

I am sure there will be much conniving and bluster along the way, but ultimately we will leave the EU and the world will continue to turn. Mick Richards Llan fair water dine, Shropshire

SIR – Janet Daley (Comment, October 16) claims that Remainers are trying to bully those who voted for Brexit, citing the recent appeal to the High Court and “Marmitegate”. She writes: “When people are determined to accomplish a political end, they will say almost anything. The native wit and scepticism of the British electorate must be on full alert.”

Did that “native wit and scepticism” see through the Brexit misinformation, such as the promise to give the NHS an extra £350 million a week? Or the claim that the UK could cut immigration without harming trade? Peter Poland Plorec-sur-Arguenon, Brittany, France SIR – Anne Marshall (Letters, October 16) has no right to tell 17.5 million people what their motives were for voting Brexit.

She also ignores the fact that, if we stay in the EU single market, we will have no sovereignty – as EU law will continue to take precedence.

Her suggestion that other countries purchase British goods because of our EU membership is laughable. James Woollard Rochester, Kent

SIR – Anne Marshall is right. It is indeed an outrage for politicians to assume that the only clear message from the referendum was the desire to control immigration – and that this should be prioritised over Britain’s economic wellbeing.

Had the referendum been based on the question of whether Britain wanted to let its economy shrink in order to control flows of people, the result would have been different. Mark Saddleton Swindon, Wiltshire