Ms Allon does not seem to understand what the Brexit referendum was about. It was a choice for the UK either to leave the EU to regain its own sovereignty or to stay under its control for the foreseeable future. There was nothing on the ballot paper about “leaving but only if we can have a free trade agreement which suits the EU” which would have been a really astute negotiating tactic.

There is an oven ready agreement available, a Canada style agreement, which is acceptable to the UK and was presumably to the EU when they negotiated it with Canada, but not when now negotiating with the UK.

That is because such an agreement would not make us subservient to the European Court of Justice, restrict our use of state aid to protect our own industries, reduce the EU red tape restrictions to enable us to trade more flexibly or allow the EU to continue to plunder the UK Fishing waters. Agreeing to these conditions as laid down by the EU does not seem to me to be regaining our sovereignty.

The EU do not want us to leave on terms that will enable us to be a successful trading country as this would lead to a number of other EU countries following us out.

The new free-trade agreement with Japan is a step towards our joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership which also includes Australia, Canada, Mexico and New Zealand

We are, after all, the sixth largest economy in the world and we should believe in our ability to conduct ourselves accordingly.

John Hutchinson

Addingham