David Davis would do the country a great service to resign and tell us honestly what he now thinks of Brexit

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The Brexit Secretary always seemed like one of the more intelligent Brexiteers (PA)

There will be many of us, like Tony Baker of Thirsk, who suspect that David Davis already realises what an economic disaster Brexit will be for Britain. He may even suspect that Brexit might actually be impossible. He has certainly seen enough to know, in spite of his public bluster, that the EU holds virtually all the cards in the negotiations.

Of the Three Brexiteers, the personal ambitions of Boris Johnson have long been laughably transparent, and Liam Fox’s earlier lack of judgement in Government should have disqualified him from such a crucial senior post. But David Davis, apart from appearing a little glib at times, seems the most balanced and intelligent of the three.

If he now realises that he is up a gum tree, he would do the country a great service to resign and tell us honestly what he now thinks of Brexit prospects. Wouldn’t most people prefer honourably to admit errors of judgement now than wait to be made to look exceedingly foolish later? A Brexit debacle would mark the end of all three political careers anyway.

Gavin Turner
Norfolk

Almost all the members of the EU had the experience of being occupied by a foreign power during or after the Second World War.

While Britain can be rightly proud of its successful resistance, I wonder if it also had a negative effect. Being occupied must surely have a dramatic influence on realising who you really are as a people, the fragility of the status quo, and the limits of political power in the real world.

The effect is a “short sharp shock” – a fast growing-up experience and a realisation that prosperity comes from cooperation and trade, not war, with our neighbours. It is a pity that Britain missed out on the advantages of this. Perhaps it might go some way to explain the odd “Cheshire Cat” approach to negotiation adopted by David Davis that I, for one, find so embarrassing.

Jim Scadding
Weston-super-Mare

Chris Grayling continues to disappoint. A leading member of the “they need us more than we need them” brigade, he is still maintaining this stance. But there has been a subtle evolution – his latest line includes the claim that “Britain will succeed come what may”.

This attitude seems to be growing among Brexiteers – that we can take all the setbacks flowing from their own errors, and succeed anyway, somehow. In any case, the French will always want to sell us cheese, probably, and the Germans will always want to sell us BMWs.

An impressive geopolitical strategy, indeed. I wonder what Churchill, Wellington or Elizabeth I would have made of it.

John Gemmell
Shropshire

The DUP continues to show its true traitorous colours

Yesterday’s article headlined “Tories face humiliation as DUP poised to back Labour on womens’ pensions” brings to mind the famous old dictum that an honest politician is one who, once bought, stays bought.

Chris Payne
Philippines

The 1960s weren’t that bad

Jennifer Bell asked in yesterday’s Letters page how students managed without cars in the olden days. If 1961 was the “olden days” to a youngster like her, then the answer is I took one small suitcase which, as was the case then, did not have wheels and either travelled by inter-city bus or hitchhiked. I did suffer!

Alan Pack
Canterbury

Weinstein should stay out of the movie business

I am very pleased to read that Harvey Weinstein has been exposed and sacked before he had a chance to remake Ian Fleming’s Goldfinger. His casting of Goldfinger’s personal pilot Pussy Galore could have held up the production for months on end.

John Harrison
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