• WHEN Theresa May was home secretary she was told by a High Court judge that she was sending a Nigerian asylum seeker, lying on a stretcher, to certain death for her own political gain. We should bear this ruthlessness in mind when considering her democratic claims for Brexit.

For two years we have been kept in the dark about these negotiations save that there are very serious stumbling blocks, like the border with Northern Ireland, and that David Davis did not make any assessments of impacts during his tenure as chief negotiator.

What we do know is that our country is a sad one, going backwards, that the suicide rate among teenagers in Northern Ireland is twice that of teenagers in Scotland. Is that because Nicola Sturgeon speaks with optimism?

We know that young people who wish to travel and work in Europe were denied the vote two years ago, but are now young adults with no voice. We do know that we will probably not be able to get on a high-speed train to Amsterdam without a visa.

We do know that cancer research in the Crick Institute and three Welsh cancer hospitals may no longer be funded, and that the marvellous grants for restoration of run-down towns like Dunbar will cease. We know that the far right will find Brexit a justification for extremism and violence.

At Parliament Square on Saturday we thought the protest of thousands of people, from all parts of the UK, will be ignored. Although, of course, this may not be the case after the end of this week if May is tripped up.

NICHOLAS & SARA WOOD
South Hill Park Gardens, NW3