YP Letters: MPs' deceit on Brexit should be a crime

HIS Honour James Stewart QC (The Yorkshire Post, March 3) suggests that “Remainers” should rely on contract law when arguing for a second referendum. I would form a different view as I cannot see a contractual relationship in respect of which the ‘misrepresentation’ was being made.

My preference would be to pursue an action under the tort of deceit. In these case however, only damages could be obtained as opposed to rescission. I believe that proving both liability and loss would be both difficult and expensive.

What seems now to be abundantly clear is that disingenuous statements were made by MPs leading up to the referendum vote. These statements were (or ought to have been) known to be false and were made specifically to influence the minds of voters.

Accordingly, these MPs ought be held responsible. I would advocate legislation being passed making it a criminal offence for MPs to make reckless or fraudulent representations to the public and I would have the offence punishable with imprisonment.

From: Mike Smith, Birkby, Huddersfield.

IT is ironic that His Honour James Stewart QC expresses surprise that ‘Remainers’ have not legally pursued the alleged promise of £350m a week to the NHS when arguing for a second referendum.

On a pedantic point of law, we are still in the EU and the promise, if it ever was a ‘promise’ as opposed to a misguided proposal for where the money may be better spent than in EU coffers, it may yet be fulfilled.

The irony is that the legal profession has been a major factor leading up to the referendum in the first place.

As far back as 1999, the former Lib-Dem MEP Diana Wallis was telling us our own lawyers were gold-plating the myriad EU directives transposed into UK law well beyond what other EU member states were applying and with adverse consequences for many of our industries.

From: Roger Backhouse, Orchard Road, Upper Poppleton, York.

LIKE James Stewart QC, I thought there were many misleading statements in the referendum campaign. Leave lost much support by running a misleading campaign. Had they told the truth about the EU, there would have been a three to one vote to leave.

The claim of £350m a week extra for the NHS was particularly false but it suited several would-be Conservative Party leaders to go along with it.

Claim of great trade deals to be struck outside the EU were also doubtful. The prospect of trade deals with China, which already undermines British businesses, fills me with dread and the US will drive a very hard bargain under their America First President.

Remain offended too. George Osborne lowered the campaign’s tone right from the start by promising an emergency budget if Britain voted out.

The referendum was dismal politics but if we allege Leave won under false pretences that would enable us to challenge just about every general election since 1900.

As for a second referendum, no thanks. The last was bad enough.

From: Dick Lindley, Altofts, Normanton.

AT last the EU bully boys, who are threatening dire consequences for the UK if we don’t submit to their vicious and vindictive conditions for leaving, have now met their match in President Trump.

It is so easy for these unelected bureaucrats to bully a small nation like ours, but not so easy to frighten the leader of the most powerful nation in the world.

If President Trump imposes tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and cars from the EU, the whole EU economy will collapse like snow before the summer rain, bringing an end to EU dreams of a United States of Europe.

From: Keith Wigglesworth, Mead Way, Highburton, Huddersfield.

I FULLY agree with the comments by His Honour James Stewart QC regarding his views on the law of contract, but using his logic, our whole entry into the EU should be regarded as null and void as we, the public, were lied to by the then Prime Minister Edward Heath.

From: Philip Blackshaw, Cleckheaton.

WITH reference to the letter from His Honour James Stewart QC, would somebody like to inform His Honour that we haven’t yet left the EU. It would appear, therefore, that no law of contract has, as yet, been broken.

From: Dr David Hill, CEO, World Innovation Foundation, Huddersfield.

PEOPLE are concerned about Brexit, but in reality it does not matter if we are in or out of the EU in the long term. What counts vitally is that this nation has the most dynamic economy in the world – and this does not mean the largest economy either.

But unfortunately, government and Whitehall have never listened to and applied anything other than ‘bog standard’ economic strategies that basically have in real terms, suppressed the greatest intrinsic strength that we have as a nation.

Our people are our greatest strength when it comes to the ‘fundamental thinking’ that is the basis of three-quarters of all new global wealth creation, but government does not understand this.

From: Alan Disberry, Sheffield.

IT is good news that Siemens has selected a site in East Yorkshire to build its new train manufacturing plant (The Yorkshire Post, March 2).

I don’t think we need to be too concerned about Brexit negotiations: Siemens will build our trains, Deutsche Bahn runs our trains, BMW makes our Minis, DHL delivers our parcels and Allianz insures us.

I’m sure German industry chiefs will not let Angela Merkel undermine them at the Brexit negotiating table.