Many thanks for the return of Sylvanus in your New Year’s Eve publication. It was mainly because of his column that I first started buying The Sunday Times of Malta when we came to Malta eight years ago. We now live in Gozo and it really was a good read to start the New Year.

His wit was only overshadowed in the same issue of the newspaper by Michael Frank Owen, who wrote a letter entitled ‘Brexit will not happen’. I know from previous letters that he is a Remain supporter but he must be living on another planet to think that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will ever be elected Prime Minister in the UK.

My generation of veterans and their families as well as serving personnel in Her Majesty’s forces would never vote for a man who, along with Tony Blair, cosies up to Sinn Féin’s Gerry Adams. The reason Labour did so well in the 2017 election was that Mr Corbyn promised he would abolish university fees, although he has since admitted it cannot be done.

Anyone who considers that Mr Corbyn – who has already said he will strip back defences to the minimum – will win an election, really needs to think again.

In his letter, Mr Owen suggested Brexit voters should have a ‘B’ on their new blue British passports. If anything, we should have a ‘P’ for Patriot. After all the years of being told what to do by the EU, England can finally bail out.