The Mini, manufactured in Cowley, is stuffed full of components sourced from all over the EU

There’s something gloriously inconsistent to be found in the stage-managed arguments of Professor Patrick Minford, the chairman of Economists for Free Trade.

In the introduction to his paper, entitled From Project Fear to Project Prosperity, Minford argues that the post-Brexit economy can only succeed through competition — and that jobs need to be lost in uncompetitive industries.

Yet he welcomes sterling’s post-referendum decline, claiming that “this has greatly boosted manufacturing profits and provided a cushion, which we believe could well last five or 10 years, during which productivity adjustment can take place”.

A falling exchange rate has rarely opened up a path to prosperity. Too often, it has merely allowed bad competitive habits to fester — by virtue of the “cushion” to which Minford refers.