EU referendum: Dutch newspaper writes open letter in response to The Sun backing Brexit

'We not only love you, we need you'

A newspaper in the Netherlands has issued a plea to Britons not to leave the EU, suggesting the bloc without the UK would be like "tea without milk".

The Dutch daily AD featured an adapted Union Flag on its front page with the words "don't leave me this way", the day after The Sun backed the Leave campaign.

The open letter, published in English, urges the UK to stay with its European neighbours.

Referring to the links between the two countries - both historical and cultural - the editorial suggests the UK and the Netherlands maintain "some common sense on this turbulent continent".

The letter claims the Dutch not only love the UK, but need the country, and says the EU without it would be "bitter" like "tea without milk".

The letter in full reads:

"Britain Hello, This is your neighbour calling. Please do not leave us.

"Of course, there will always be a Great Britain, anchored only 20 miles from the continent.

"England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, we feel at ease in your amazing country.

"Since our King William III (of Orange) married your Queen Mary II (of England), we have been related anyway.

"Nobody in Europe appreciates your culture more than we do. The Beatles, Bridget Jones, One Direction, EastEnders, Brideshead Revisited fame, we love it all. Many of us know Monty Python's Dead Parrot sketch by heart.

"We admire your stiff upper lip. And every year we remember, with the greatest respect, all Those Who have fallen to liberate our country.

"Now you are thinking of leaving us. Sailing out your floating country towards distant shores, so says your largest newspaper, The Sun.

"Talking as a Dutch uncle, we have to tell you this is not a good idea. We not only love you, we need you.

"Who else supports us in keeping some common sense on this turbulent continent of ours?

"An EU without the UK would be like tea without milk. Bitter. So please, stay. Stay with us."