Here’s a lesson to all those who deliberately misconstrue and misquote Winston Churchill in their oft-repeated view that “jaw jaw” is always preferable to “war war”: Assad, being unelected, being a dictator who was handed the job by his daddy, behaves in the way he does because he is unelected, democracy being anathema to him and his fellow Middle East dictators. His chief ally, President Putin of Russia, although technically elected, has almost as high a regard for democracy as his chinless friend in Syria.

War crimes are committed by those who don’t feel accountable to anyone. And if these – and yes, I’m going to use the word – evil people can’t be held to account by their own citizens, then the international community is obliged to do so on their behalf.

And now President Trump – of all people! – is leading the way in bringing Assad to book, with a US missile attack on the Shayrat air base in central Syria. America, being a democracy, will hold the president to account for his decision – not necessarily with censure, but by ensuring the correct checks and balances were respected. And yet whose actions will be protested against tonight by a bunch of drooling Trotskyists outside Downing Street? The dictator who murdered hundreds of children with poison gas? Or the democratically-elected Commander in Chief who launched a limited attack on a military base in response?