When Britain said that it would guarantee the rights of EU citizens, it meant their right to stay in the UK under British legal jurisdiction. It did not mean their right to abide by the rulings of separate EU courts. And yet Michel Barnier, the chief EU negotiator, calls the latter an “obligation” that Britain must meet. Not only would it be perverse to allow EU nationals a separate set of rights, but the suggestion is also an insult. Our laws are not second class to Europe’s. If anything, they are far more enlightened.

In 1972 Parliament voted to submit to EU law and, of course, extricating ourselves will be complex. But the Europeans are wrong to regard that decision as eternal. On the contrary, member states have every right to trigger Article 50 and begin the process of withdrawal. In this instance, the British government isn’t acting on its own whim but fulfilling the national will as expressed in a referendum – underscoring that, for the UK, Brexit is a reassertion of democratic sovereignty. It would be bizarre if this process were to conclude with European law still holding sway.