GK Massingham, of Kings­bridge, writes:

Just to help Mr Alan Langmaid, Gazette, May 6, with his concerns about the NHS and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, I would direct readers to the ­parliamentlive.tv televised Health Select Committee ­meeting on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 26. The subject of the meeting was ‘Impact of Membership of the EU on Health Policy’: home page; click ‘search’; enter subject ‘health’; enter start date ‘April 26’.

Very near the end of the proceedings (17.20.45), Jane Ellison MP, the parliamentary under secretary of state for public health, confirmed that EU legislation, pre-TTIP, already exists, which provides member states the right to protect their public services from any such market forces, if they so wish.

Of course, we all know ­politics responds to shifting sands and nothing is forever set in stone, but I suggest that any legal challenge by battled-­hardened US corporate lawyers crying ‘foul’ under the TTIP rules would be batted away by the EU without loss of trading credibility. The EU member states would in no way allow any attempt to undermine their rights as set down by the ­existing legislation.

I do sympathise with Mr Langmaid having to use the ‘tactics of fear’. It really doesn’t help in what is a very serious matter for this country.

For instance, it was only a week or so ago that the National Campaign for an Independent Britain had set up stall in Kingsbridge, handing out full-colour fliers headed ‘LOVE the NHS? HATE TTIP’.

Tripped up there, then, and spent quite a bit of money doing it.