This was a good speech by the Prime Minister. She was forthright that she is delivering on the promises of the previous speeches and the manifesto commitments: this Government will take Britain out of the customs union, the single market and the European Court of Justice.

Mrs May is taking a sensible, pragmatic and generous approach; offering something to the EU whilst also being extremely clear on Northern Ireland, so I am content.

There are inevitably a few small points that will concern Leave campaigners but we must all recognise that everyone will have to give up something to get a deal, so now is not the time to nitpick.

I do not agree with those people who have said that paying for associate membership of EU bodies such as the European Medicines Agency amounts to a betrayal of Brexit.

Consider, for example, the European Aviation Safety Agency. Our own Civil Aviation Authority takes a leading role in providing the experts for that body, so in paying for associate membership of it we would, in effect, be paying our own people. Importantly the sums involved will be tiny in comparison to what we have paid for EU membership - millions, not billions.