WITH the European Parliament elections coming up, HAS readers may wish to reflect on the cost of the EU’s flagship scheme – the CAP or Common Agricultural Policy.

Did you know, and are you at all surprised to learn, that a quarter of the money goes to the French, whose farmers comprise only ten per cent of the European total? Or that 85 per cent of the budget goes to just 18 per cent of the farms, with a mere two per cent of farmers receiving a monstrous 25 per cent of the entire pot? In addition, two large food companies in Sweden and Denmark have received an unbelievable £1.39bn since 2000.

If you thought that it couldn’t get even more crazy, consider this: airlines and cruise companies can claim subsidies for exporting food for consumption on their planes and ships – and they do.

Those who wish to learn more about the lunacy that is the EU should grab a copy of a new book, The Great European Rip- Off, by David Craig and Matthew Elliot, and then decide which party is most likely to extract the UK from this madhouse before it destroys us completely. Then, and only then, should they decide where to place their cross on June 4.

David Lacey, Durham.