DAVID Harrison yearns so strongly for Britain to remain in the European Union that he sounds like a member of Common Purpose (Letters, January 11).

But David needn’t fret, because Britain’s release from the EU is unlikely, given EU policy on policing. The EU Treaty of Velsen in 2007 created the European Gendarmerie Force [EGF], a paramilitary force designed for use in EU countries against civilians in the event of mass protest or unrest.

Meanwhile Europol, the federal EU police force, already operates in Britain. And by EU law the members of Europol, like all EU officials, have a lifetime’s legal immunity.

So Europol officers, as well as “officials and other servants” of the EU, can use any means to prevent Britain’s escape from the EU. The EGF and Europol will be free to treat any campaign for Britain’s release from the EU as potentially unlawful.

RALPH PROTHERO, Southampton.