NATIONAL media reports suggests that fury has erupted over a shock demand for £5.4 billion from the EU. It is clear that the EU is beyond reform. The only way for Britain to stop being at the sharp end of more bills is to withdraw altogether.

Fresh figures show that Britain paid into Brussels’ coffers £50 billion by the end of the current five-year Parliament term.

Where are we going to find these colossal amounts to pay into the EU? I am retired and still paying tax at the basic rate, plus the personal allowances have stayed static for the two or three years.

So the increases we are due yearly are going to prop up countries that have come into the EU, and haven’t got a penny to pay in.

Enough is enough. Surely the Chancellor knows what’s going and should refuse any increase in this year’s budget, otherwise he will be having to go to Zurich for another loan to keep us going. This we do not want.

Tom Mitchell, Mendip Close, Huntington, York