Imran Khan, the Oxford-educated former playboy cricketer, is roaring along the Pakistani campaign trail in his armoured car. Horns honk. Crowds yell. Superfans on motorbikes race after him. Thousands line the road with his flags. Hysteria grips the small Punjabi city of Mandi Bahauddin. Khan, however, is miles away. “British politics,” he intones. “It’s such a boring politics. If I had to be in British politics, after two months I would just … commit suicide.”

There is a thud on the roof. Supporters are leaping onto the Khan-mobile. But when it comes to adulation, the man who captained Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup has seen it all. “British politics,” he says again, shaking his head. “The only exciting thing happening is