For those of us who want to leave the EU the recent outburst by the Chancellor Philip Hammond was no surprise.

The history of the Treasury is filled with civil servants who are ardent remainers. Remember the advice they gave the last incumbent, the emergency budgets and project fear.

But a quick look behind the scenes and you will see the chief civil servant responsible for taking us out of the EU is a man appointed by Mrs May, an arch remainer, and a man who belongs to many of the close-knit clubs of European cooperation.

Unfortunately it will not be the last outburst from the remainer camp. They fail to see what succour this gives the EU negotiators, whilst doing a great disservice to the British people they supposedly serve.

Keith Isaac,

Byron Drive, York

No confidence that we won’t avoid mess

Mr Harrison (Letters, August 28) says 'our economy has done better than the Eurozone mainly because that has performed badly' and then gives us details. I am hardly surprised because we are still in the EU. After 11pm on Friday March 29, 2019, it will cease to be like that unless we remain in the Single Market and the Customs Union.

Mr Harrison, do you honestly believe that trading with the EU, the US, et al under much tougher WTO rules will be of benefit to the majority of people in the UK? Do you really want us to lose the enormous benefit of London being Europe’s banking capital?

At the moment, I have no confidence whatever that our shambolic Government is going to make anything but a complete dog’s breakfast of either our economy or the Irish border.

Quentin Macdonald,

Church Lane,

Nether Poppleton, York,

Chance to learn all about stone carver

There will be another new walk at York Cemetery on Sunday, September 2, at 2pm.

Dennis Shaw will lead the walk discovering the monuments of stonemason George Walker Milburn. To York people Milburn is best known for his statues of William Etty and George Leeming, however this prolific sculptor has many outstanding works throughout the UK, and the cemetery is honoured to have 33 as grave monuments.

Join us on Sunday to visit some of these monuments and hear about his clients, including an MP, a spy, a wayward teacher, and a couple of mill owners.

An audio tour guide system will be in use on this walk.

Meet in the chapel at 1.45pm. Suggested donation £3, or for Friends of York Cemetery and children £1.

Hazel Hall,

Friends of York Cemetery,

Cemetery Road, York