HEARTFELT pleas from people whose livelihoods and personal lives would be turned upside down by a no deal Brexit have been sent to Cornwall’s MPs.

The video letter was created by campaign group Cornwall For Europe.

There has been ’no sign of progress’ towards a trade deal says the organisation, who add that an outline agreement on the terms of Britain’s leaving the EU should have been made by the end of this month but has been a casualty of Covid-19.

Senior Conservative Michael Gove announced yesterday that the Government has informed the EU it will seek no extension to the transition period. This message will come as a blow to anyone hoping for more time to avoid a hard exit.

But a Cornwall for Europe spokesperson said that Mr Gove was ’lying’ when he said that the time to request an extension had passed – as this deadline had been set for June 30.

Cornwall for Europe’s video includes testimonies from a range of people in the county whose families, businesses and livelihoods would be jeopardised by a “no deal” exit from Europe in December.

Gordon, who owns a kitchen ventilation systems business, says that disruption to their supply chains from a no-deal Brexit would cause severe problems: ’We would struggle greatly. The USA is certainly not our saviour for this business and with sterling being weak, our import costs are rising regularly already.

’Boris, we need an extension. Give us that extension so my business is viable.’

Meanwhile Anita, a Dutch citizen suffering from breast cancer who lived for years in Cornwall and whose daughter is still at school in Truro, wonders 'if she will ever see her daughter in person in Cornwall again'. She said: ’She wants to stay in the UK. We were told we could stay if we wanted to. But there’s no idea of what her future will look like. People say I should just bring her back to Holland – I can’t. She’s gone Cornish. She likes black tea with milk, she prefers pasties over our Dutch national dishes. And what about all these children who grew up in the English system? Do they just ditch that? They can’t – it’s become part of them. Their futures are there. Please, please – don’t leave without a deal. You’re ruining the lives of so many families.’

Charles Boney, speaking for Cornwall for Europe, said: “We hope this video letter makes Cornwall’s MPs sit up and think.

’A report for Cornwall Council this week shows that as many as 72,800 jobs are at risk in Cornwall from the impact of the coronavirus. It is absolutely unbelievable that the government is now greatly increasing the likelihood of even more harm to people’s jobs and livelihoods by refusing to request an extension to the Brexit transition period. Negotiations are clearly not making progress, and the prospect of a hugely damaging no-deal at the end of December is now very real indeed.

’MPs need to think about the consequences of this to their constituents, many of whom are already facing an extremely very grim outlook. If they put ideology above the well-being of people in Cornwall, they will never be forgiven.’

The video letter to Cornwall’s MPs can be viewed at  https://youtu.be/7pta8K55XBk