IT is sad to see more alarmist rhetoric from Nick Clegg on the impact of Brexit on food prices (“Brexit will mean ‘food gets dearer’”, The Press, October 17).

He suggests we will be hit by “punishing tariffs” on a false premise that we will be leaving the EU without new trade agreements in place.

While inevitably current volatility may see food price rises in the short term, our long term food economy and security will be improved as we throw off the shackles of a protectionist EU agricultural policy (allowing our farmers to innovate) and use the new freedom to set our own tariffs on foodstuffs with the rest of the world (over half of the food we import is from non EU countries).

David Farnsworth, Haxby, York