WHAT is all this nonsense about the UK having to pay the EU a large sum of money as we leave?

On the contrary, the EU could and should be required to pay the UK to be allowed to continue selling its goods in the UK.

The EU sells to the UK four times as much to the UK sells to the EU, so the UK has the upper hand in any trade negotiations or tariff war as we leave the EU.

The only money that the UK is contracted to pay the EU as we leave is for mutually-funded research projects – contracts which end in two or three years time.

In order to boost sales of their diesel cars in the UK, some German manufacturers added ‘defeat devices ‘ the emission control units to give false low readings under test conditions.

The resulting increased sales of cars with actual higher particulate emissions have made a substantial contribution to the damage to the respiratory systems of many UK residents.

Germany should now pay the UK’s NHS costs for dealing with the ill-health caused by this deception.

Just before the last General Election the UK Government had to stump up £1.7bn extra on the basis of the EU’s calculation that our economy was out performing the rest of Europe.

They should now return this money to the UK as a first instalment of any deal that they may wish to make to be allowed to continue exporting their cars to the UK.

R Alexander, Darlington