Arguably the most important aspect of this general election’s ongoing debate on Brexit is being almost completely ignored, according to new research.

A survey of all national weekday newspaper and TV-news general election coverage shows that, so far, only around 3 per cent of Brexit-related news content mentions how a UK departure from the EU may affect future European stability and security.

“Despite the fact that it is, without doubt, one of the most important Brexit-related issues, it remains the unacknowledged ‘elephant in the room’ in this so-called Brexit election,” says British-media expert Professor David Deacon, of Loughborough University’s Centre for Research in Communication and Culture, which is carrying out the survey.

Experts on European politics and history are shocked by the imbalance in the media coverage – and are warning of the probably consequences.

“Given our history, we know that failures in European solidarity and stability have had terrible consequences,” says Professor Beatrice Heuser, chair of international relations at the University of Glasgow.