Madam,

I was angered to read about John Sam Jones’ sad decision to leave Wales with his husband Jupp because of the rise of xenophobia after the Brexit referendum. The reported explanation of the people making comments, though, is nothing short of bizarre.

Jupp was told that they had voted to leave the EU, because of immigrants - but “not immigrants like him”. They said they meant “Poles, Muslims and black people” who, apart from Polish people, do not originate from the EU, so where is the reasoning in that?

I have never been aware of any problem caused by Muslim, black or Polish people in Barmouth, but I do see a housing problem directly caused by English immigrants who move to Wales. They inflate house prices because of the price differential in England, which makes them able to buy property they could never afford back home and, even worse, leave it empty half the time, in the case of second homes.

Brexiteers should ask themselves how they would feel if they were on the receiving end of such xenophobia when they first moved to Wales. Welsh people have welcomed us English immigrants into their country and treated us with kindness and respect. We should not abuse that by displaying such xenophobic attitudes towards others, when we have been treated with such kindness and tolerance.

I am glad John and Jupp were brave enough to call out this xenophobia. We should all follow their example, after all it is the kind and Christian thing to do – the very British values Brexiteers go on about.

Yours etc,

Maggie Francis, Arthog.

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