Brexit is an opportunity to set migration levels that work for everyone

SIR – Warnings from business about the damaging effects of limiting immigration are alarmist.

No one has made the presumption that Brexit will lead to a complete end to immigration. What Brexit should do is ensure that those people from other countries who wish to work here do so after proper entry controls are applied.

That is a very positive step to take for businesses, and one which should benefit the country immensely. Mick Ferrie Mawnan Smith, Cornwall SIR – Angela Merkel says that if an exception is made for Britain over freedom of movement it would put that fundamental EU principle in danger – because everyone would want the same exception (report, November 16).

But if everyone would want the same exception, what support can there be in the EU for the principle in the first place? And if the principle has so little support, why not abandon it?

If the principle were abandoned, the reason why many voted for Brexit would disappear, and there would be a majority for staying in the EU. Mike Lightfoot Northallerton, North Yorkshire SIR – It seems that many would like Theresa May – unilaterally and well in advance of formal negotiations – to assure Europeans living and working in Britain that they will be able to carry on doing so after Brexit.

I disagree. Acting without a similar assurance from the EU places British expats living in EU countries in a more precarious position – and removes a lever by which we can secure rights for them. To secure these rights later may involve a price we would much prefer not to have to pay. Ralph Griffiths New Malden, Surrey SIR – Justice Hale, a Supreme Court judge, is correct that referendums are not legally binding (report, November 16) but she forgets that they are electorally binding. She is also wrong about rights being automatically lost. It is a peculiarity of English law that, once a right is given, it can only be removed by legislation, not the repeal of legislation.

A right is a matter of common law, even when granted by legislation, and common law can only be amended by legislation. Bozidar Zabavnik London W12 SIR – Reis Mitchell (Letters, November 15) suggests that it would be a sad reflection on our democracy if a number of MPs voted to invoke Article 50 purely in order to save their jobs.

Surely it would be a fine example of democracy if, by voting for Brexit, they put their views aside in order to follow the wishes of their constituents. Alistair Mackay Dunoon, Argyllshire SIR – The Brexit formula is simple: stop paying and stop obeying. Sandy Pratt Dormansland, Surrey