Brian Parker, of Cross-parks, Dartmouth, writes:

Harry Franks claims that the fallen at the Somme ‘will be turning in their graves to think that we have withdrawn unilaterally from a united Europe set up originally to stop the misery of war’ (Letters, July 8).

No they will not. To make such a suggestion at the onset of the Second World War might be considered reasonable, but to do so in the context of Brexit is polemic nonsense.

As has been made clear in these and other pages many times, the defence of Western Europe is under the aegis of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and not the European Union.

The United Kingdom’s impending withdrawal from the EU does not affect its membership of Nato and should not place the defensive alliance at risk. To emphasise these points David Cameron has wisely made his well-advertised play of committing further troops to Latvia and Poland.

If Mr Franks is concerned about the security of Europe in the face of Russian aggression, as it is proper to be, he should raise his perspective above the UK’s disassociation with the EU.

He should reflect that this country is one of only four EU states meeting the agreed contribution level to Nato, that Greece is attempting to forge an arms pact with Moscow, a condition of which is that Greece should attempt to persuade its EU partners to lift the sanctions on Russia, and that the unfortunate and dangerous events in the Ukraine are arguably the result of the EU’s ham-fisted overtures to that country.

The EU has been a good trading partner for the UK but, in practically all other respects, it is a sorry mess.