He says “So where will Europe be in ten years time? Without borders, without a coherent currency, without leadership? With the driving sense of purpose of a pilchard?

"If I were a Brit I wonder if I’d be more afraid to stay in the EU than to leave. It’s always easy to whip up a feeling of fear about change, but it infects mostly those who sit in comfort and dine on fois gras. Me, I’ve always been a spare ribs man. I need something to chew on. And spit out.

"Brussels is a bit of a used bus ticket. Anyway I don’t ride buses. There was a time when Europeans rode chariots and sailed ships, had ambition, ideas, built great empires.