A VALE anti-Brexit group has protested a meeting held by a Vale MP.

Anti-Brexit campaign group Vale of Glamorgan for Europe held a protest outside the public meeting of Vale MP and Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns.

Mr Cairns was holding the meeting at the Duke of Wellington pub in Cowbridge on Thursday evening.

Protestors gathered from across the Vale with large Welsh and European flags, demanding a People’s Vote and vocally protest against Brexit.

The meeting began at 6.30pm and several of the protestors went inside to listen to and challenge the MP.

Sally Stephenson, local business owner, co-founder of Vale of Glamorgan for Europe and Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for the Vale, challenged Mr Cairns on the impact of Brexit on jobs and businesses.

She showed the audience a letter she had received from HMRC, explaining the new costs and bureaucracy which will hit UK businesses if the UK was to leave the Single Market and Customs Union.

Ms Stephenson said: “When we voted in 2016, Boris Johnson and the Vote Leave campaign promised that there were no downsides to Brexit and that it would not cost us a penny.

"Three years on and that is clearly not the case. As a small business owner, I understand just how much expense and red tape local businesses like mine will face if we leave the European Union.

"Brexit reality is a million miles away from what we were promised - the government’s own analysis shows that every single version of Brexit will leave us worse off and put thousands of jobs at risk. Now we understand what Brexit means - the damage it will do and the rights and opportunities we will lose.

"The people have every right to demand a final say and approve or reject whatever deal Boris Johnson brings back.”

Speaking to the Penarth Times, Mr Cairns said: “As residents will be aware, I’ve held many public meetings on Brexit over recent months across the Vale. I believe it’s incredibly important for elected representatives to be available and engage with constituents on key issues.

"That’s why I am keen to hold regular meetings of this kind, to make myself as accessible as possible and provide people with the opportunity to partake in a question and answer session on the big issues of the day.

"I felt the meeting was useful, generated debate from both sides and hopefully made clear my position – that we absolutely need to respect the result and leave the EU.”

“Much has been made of the Pro-EU activists who took the opportunity to approach me outside the meeting at the Duke of Wellington, before it started.

"While I absolutely respect their right to make themselves heard, I was very clear in explaining to them that I also respect the result of the referendum.

"It is vital for our democracy that we deliver on the vote to Leave, which with 17.4m votes was the biggest democratic mandate the country has ever seen.”

The Vale of Glamorgan for Europe group has announced their intentions to attend the People's Vote march in London this Saturday, together with campaigners from across the UK.