THE imperatives of post-Brexit competitiveness calls for a more active and intense United Kingdom domestic market to offset the prospect of hard external borders.

This should include an expansion of UK airports to include Belfast, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle and London airports along with the abolition of air passenger duty on UK domestic flights to encourage a greater market in more frequent and cheaper UK internal flights.

It is also necessary to construct what the Victorians had serious discussions about, namely an Irish Sea tunnel to enable goods and passengers to board trains direct for like likes of Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham and London.

Such a project would offset a hard Irish Republic border and enable that speedier circulation of goods, workers and money within the UK domestic market of which Northern Ireland is a most integral part.

John Barstow, Pulborough, West Sussex