Brexit’s long shadow

Sir, – Bobby McDonagh identifies four direct links between “the Brexit fable and the UK budgetary bedlam” (Opinion & Analysis, October 17th). He is correct. However, ignoring civil service advice is the prerogative of ministers. Indeed, some civil servants were in favour of leaving the EU. David (now Lord) Frost was a civil servant who received the Order of St Michael and St George from Queen Elizabeth II for “extraordinary non-military service in a foreign country”. He became chief Brexit negotiator. He was as ardent a Brexiteer as any politician.

Also, there are times when ministers should break free of civil service restraints. Donogh O’Malley and the introduction of free second-level education here comes to mind.

A fifth direct link to the current UK “bedlam” is the behaviour of some British MPs and MEPs, who curried favour by siding with increasingly wild media claims about the EU. This was a significant cause of Brexit. These MPs and MEPs were more interested in what the editors and owners of (mainly) right-wing newspapers said about the EU than they were about their constituents or the national interest. They had little or no concern about their neighbours or international stability, on which trading nations’ prosperity depends.

Freedom of the media is a cornerstone of democracy. However, this does not mean that media owners or editors should be above criticism. Reckless media bosses should shoulder part of the blame for the UK’s current afflictions, and so should MPs and MEPs who willingly danced to their tune. – Yours, etc,