IT has always been obvious that if the UK eventually decides on a no-deal Brexit, we are going to urgently need trade deals with other countries to compensate for the loss of much of our current EU trade. Moreover, because our need will then be desperate, it is evident that we will be negotiating from a position of weakness, and will therefore hardly be in control of our own destiny.

However, this assumes that other countries are prepared to trust the UK to stand by any trade deal that is negotiated. After all, who in their right mind would enter into a deal with a country known to break its word?

Thus, logically, I can only assume that Boris Johnson has decided that he wants an EU trade deal, and that the threat of the UK breaking the EU Withdrawal Agreement is simply a negotiating tactic to try and get the talks moving.

However, there is an obvious danger that this approach will misfire, and make an EU deal impossible, in which case we could end up with no one wanting to trade with us at all!

I wonder how many of those who voted Conservative in the General Election realised they were electing a reckless gambler as our Prime Minister?

Alan Jordan, Middridge.