JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER, the president of the EU Commission, has said that Theresa May’s unilateral offer of full UK citizenship and all of the UK’s benefits to all EU citizens that have lived in the UK for more than five years is “below expectations”.

What cheek! The EU has not offered any reciprocal arrangement whatsoever for UK citizens resident in the EU.

If Mr Juncker regards Mrs May’s offer to EU citizens as “below expectations” why has the EU not responded with an offer to UK citizens living in the EU that is up to their “expectations” for EU citizens resident in the UK?

If the EU does not come up with at least an equal offer for UK citizens living in the EU, then the UK should tell the EU that we are leaving the EU now, and not dragging out futile so called negotiations for another two years It has now become obvious, that the EU has no intention of making any reasonable agreement with the UK, and Mrs May should now inform the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, that we are leaving the EU immediately.

This would give us now an extra £180m every day to spend on the health service, anti-terrorist measures, cybercrime and care for the elderly.

This would, for the next two years, be a better use of our taxation than its current use which is to prop up the black-hole in the EU finances. It will also leave us free to use the other £135m (out of our total £315m daily contribution) on UK subsidies of our choice, not spent at the direction of the EU.

RW Alexander, Darlington