I REMEMBER the jolt I felt, sitting in the Dorset History Centre, discovering my five-times-great-grandpa, William Parker, was "removed" from the parish of Wool because he was poor. He hadn't become chargeable to the parish; they just deemed it likely that one day he might be. It didn't matter that his mum and dad and all his siblings were living there. He'd been apprenticed in Corfe Castle and that was now deemed to be his place of legal settlement.

Life was like that back in 1791. The Poor Laws, brought in during the reign of Elizabeth I, were harsh and cruel. Poor folk had limited freedom. They couldn't even leave their parish without permission. Gradually, over many years, the rights of the poor were fought for and won.

With the removal of our Freedom of Movement rights – sadly confused by many with immigration – it feels as if our government has set us back 200 years. Studying or working abroad will once again become the sole privilege of those who can afford third-country visas. I will never, ever forgive our government for stripping us of these rights. It marks the point in British history when we stopped progressing.

KIM PARKER, Coy Pond Road, Branksome