SIR - Today’s Observer tells me that the battle to stop Brexit has been lost. The UK leaves the EU on January 31 - end of story.

I have bad news, however, for your many readers who are in favour of “Leave” and who now look forward to my shutting up. I will not be silenced and my letters will, from time to time, flow in – and hopefully be published.

Boris Johnson has a huge majority for (a) getting the Withdrawal Agreement Bill into law and then (b) setting about agreeing the UK’s future relationship with the EU. The latter will not happen easily and there will be years of protracted negotiations. Boris has not “got Brexit done” - he has simply rolled a six on the die in order to get onto the Ludo board.

My prediction is that there will be difficulties and the UK economy will perform significantly less well than if we had remained EU members. It will be a slow puncture.

I could of course be wrong. Brexit may prove a huge success. In which case I pledge to acknowledge my error and eat a humble pie that will take the form of my stripping to my underpants only and running through the Mirror Pool in City Park.

John Cole, Oakroyd Terrace, Baildon