CAMPAIGNERS hope that a banner declaring Cornwall as “Still European” will be one of the first things world leaders see as they fly into the county for the G7 summit.

The Cornwall for Europe group put the message up on a barn at the end of the runway at Newquay Airport.

Campaign chairman Howard Farmer said: “We want to make it clear that, although we have left the EU, we are still part of Europe and we feel European. We share the history and the culture of Europe and believe Brexit is doing Cornwall real harm.”

Cornwall for Europe’s move comes on a day when the new Conservative leadership of Cornwall Council announces it is closing the Council’s office in Brussels which was set up by the previous Lib Dem and Independent administration.

New Council leader Linda Taylor said that the £25,000 which would have been spent on keeping the base open until the end of the lease in January 2022 will be used for local projects in Cornwall instead.

She said: “Decisions are no longer made in Brussels and closing the Cornwall Brussels Office reflects this shift with decision-making now resting firmly in the UK. Closing the office allows us to free up funds to invest in our local economy.”

Cornwall Council now says that in order to ensure value for money during the three-month notice period to end the contract, the Cornwall Brussels Office will focus on G7 legacy, and trade and investment links, supporting Cornish stakeholders in accessing the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme, and providing policy advice to Cornish businesses on the new UK-EU relationship as the UK-EU Cooperation and Trade Agreement beds in.

But the Cornwall for Europe campaigners believe that Brexit is widely viewed as a mistake – and that it is only a matter of time before Britain’s membership of the EU is reconsidered.

The Covid pandemic has obscured the truth about the impact of Brexit on the local economy, says Howard Farmer.

“Every day we hear more cases of hardship caused by Brexit. Farmers see the collapse of export markets as the barriers caused by health checks cut in, and the fishing industry believe they have been sold down the river as they cannot get fresh fish to market because of the delays."

Charles Boney, the campaign’s Press Officer, said: “We have all focused on keeping ourselves safe and supporting the NHS over the last year.

“We’ve put up with the hardship and accepted the crisis situation, but as we return to normal, the damage to our European trade is becoming clearer by the day. We predict that economic growth and prosperity will be lower in the UK in years to come and, sadly, we will slide down the international pecking order. This week’s G7 may be the last one at which the UK is seen as having real influence in the world. The idea that Britain can be great again, because it’s turned its back on Europe, is a fantasy."