MEON Valley MP George Hollingbery has organised two free local panel discussions about the EU ahead of the referendum on whether to leave Europe or remain.

The two events in Botley and Horndean will comprise eminent experts from both sides of the argument and will be chaired by Mr Hollingbery.

All seats have now been taken at the venues - meaning that 900 local people will be able to take part in and listen to the discussions.

Those attending include: lawyers, politicians, think tank experts, a high-profile journalist and the Polish Ambassador to the UK.

Mr Hollingbery said: “There is a great deal of confusion about what Europe does and what it means to Britain and whether we should stay or go, so I thought a panel discussion would help people be better informed before they vote in the referendum.

“These discussions will not be about persuading anyone to vote to stay or leave, they're simply designed to inform and make people think about this complex issue and hopefully everyone will get a better idea of what our relationship with Europe is and might be in the future.

“I’m delighted that we have attracted such knowledgeable people to the panels who will give very interesting and diverse perspectives on this issue.

“I’m particularly pleased that the Polish Ambassador, Witold Sobków, has decided to come to one of the events. He will offer a very distinct perspective and I think he may well be the highest ranking Polish dignitary to visit the Meon Valley since D-Day in 1944.

“I’m sure these will be informative evenings full of challenging and enquiring questions and discussion, but, as chairman, I shall ensure they will be non-partisan, and not an occasion for anyone to get on their soap box about Europe.”

The first event is at the Macdonald Botley Park Hotel, Golf and Country Club, Winchester Road, Botley, this evening, starting at 7.30pm.

The second discussion is at Horndean Technology College, Barton Cross on March 18 again starting at 7.30pm.

George wrote to randomly selected constituents last month to tell them about the events and people were asked to register online. All the seats were taken in three days.

At the Botley event, the panel will be: Isabel Hardman - Spectator journalist; Charles Grant – Centre for European Reform think tank; Graham Riddick – former MP and member of the Vote Leave campaign; Professor Sir Alan Dashwood QC – specialist European Lawyer; and Richard Ashworth – MEP for the South East.

Those on the panel at the Horndean event are: Witold Sobków - Polish Ambassador, Gary Jeffries – Solent Local Enterprise Partnership, Richard Ashworth – MEP for the South East, Martin Howe QC – specialist European Lawyer and Pawel Swidlicki – from the Open Europe think tank.