SIR — What sad letters from Thelma Frost and JBM Davis (April 15), both still fighting World War Two; Thelma Frost with her undisguised hatred of Germans and JBM Davis still harking back to the horrors of that war.

Neither seem to accept the fact that when the EC (forerunner of the EU) was formed in 1957 the major aim was to break the cycle of frequent and bloody wars between European neighbours which had been so prevalent in the 19th and 20th centuries. The fact that there have been no wars between member states in the near 60 years since the EC/EU was formed, is proof of its incredible success. This totally validates the political co-operation which has been necessary between member states in order to retain that peace.

JMB Davis harks back to the good old days of the 1950s. They weren’t that good for ordinary people, with rationing, smog, chilblains and racial discrimination highly prevalent. I certainly wouldn’t like to go back to them and nor would most people I suspect. Also, we no longer have our Empire, so that source of cheap supply is no longer open to us, despite the rose-tinted spectacles of the ’outers’.

With regard to our laws: The vast majority are still made in the UK and those that do come from Brussels have to be approved by our ELECTED members in the European parliament. Not by unelected bureaucrats as the ’outers’ claim. It’s our bureaucrats at home we have to keep an eye on. After all, it was this Tory government that blocked the EU move to increase tariffs on Chinese steel.

Even if they are sincere in what they say they believe, they have no right to claim that they are more patriotic than I am. I love my country and want the best for its citizens. The fact that I see a better future in continued co-operation with our neighbours, rather than cutting ourselves adrift and potentially ending up as the 51st State of the America, does not make me unpatriotic, just realistic.

David Shevels,

Porlock.