INVEST IN BRAIN RESEARCH

Dementia is costing the economy £26billion a year and is now the leading cause of death in this country.

That’s according to Alzheimer’s Research UK, which also reckons that by 2025 a million Brits will be living with the illness, two million by 2050. I took a closer look at this when Barbara Windsor’s husband Scott Mitchell got in touch after I gave my best wishes to the couple (pictured) as they struggle with the actress’s Alzheimer’s.

Scientists say a cure is within reach. Yet a No Deal Brexit could wreck that. We pay £4.7billion into the EU’s research budget but get £7.7billion back in grants. That would end.

EU countries work together and share their research findings and that might also stop.

Scott said: “Research into this illness is already underfunded. We need to invest and invest urgently.”

We do. Alzheimer’s Research UK predicts a breakthrough is possible in six years.

We must not let Brexit, or anything else, derail that hope. If Environment Secretary Michael Gove wants to charge 10p for non-biodegradable plastic bags, he should also get rid of unnecessary packaging – such as space-suited apples and condomed cucumbers.

Junior minister Thérèse Coffey says: “If anyone receives products they believe are ‘over-packaged’ they should report it to Trading Standards.” I report Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Lidl, Aldi, Morrisons, Iceland, Ocado, Waitrose, Co-op...