I read about the latest proposals on visa waivers (Report, August 23) and enhanced passport bureaucracy at the Channel ports with a feeling of sadness and dread.
The pleasure of a day out to France has diminished significantly in the past 20 years, long before Brexit. Delays sometimes of over an hour at border control take the shine off what should be a pleasant day out.
My experience contrasts markedly with that of my grandparents, who in the 20s, 30s and even after the second world war would regularly enjoy a “no passport” day out from the Kent coast (as Londoners did from Tower Pier) with three or four hours ashore in Calais or Boulogne.
One can fairly put the blame on international terrorism and people smuggling for this. Terrorists have in effect won their battle to degrade our way of life.
We have come a long way from the 1951 statement in The Spectator by Labour’s Ernest Bevin (then I think the foreign secretary) who said: “My foreign policy is to be able to take a ticket at Victoria Station and go anywhere I damn well please.”
Michael Matthews
Sandwich, Kent, UK