If the Foreign Secretary believes that Theresa May’s Brexit deal is a “Turkey trap” then why is he still in her Cabinet, helping her build that trap? If the Attorney General regards the deal as a pathetic life raft made of “oil drums and a plastic sail”, why is he still assisting in its launch? Jeremy Hunt, Geoffrey Cox, Liam Fox, Andrea Leadsom, Chris Grayling, Michael Gove: all are known to be in despair about the fate of Brexit – but none have resigned. To their critics, they embody the Tory spinelessness that led to this mess; the “pizza plotters” who can eat together, but not much more.

But there is another explanation: that they are staying because they expect Mrs May’s deal to be rejected by Parliament and think someone needs to be around in Cabinet to help salvage the Brexit project. They don’t agree on everything (indeed, Mrs Leadsom doesn’t even like pizza) but they think that, if the vote fails, Brexit can then be saved by those ministers who have had the stomach to stay around. Fanciful? Perhaps. But the rationale is worth exploring.

The threat of the Tory whips – “May’s deal or no Brexit” – is fast losing its potency because a striking number of senior Brexiteers now believe that her deal is far worse. Thursday’s “political declaration” confirmed her plan: send £39 billion to Brussels with almost no assurances of what will be given in return. A free trade deal is spoken of, but not guaranteed.