Theresa May’s capacity for soaking up punishment has made her an icon of obstincacy and infuriated her adversaries Tom Stockill

Returning from Brussels on Friday after one of the most brutal weeks any British prime minister has endured for decades, Theresa May might have headed straight home, opened a bottle of wine and cancelled all her engagements.

Instead, she travelled straight to her Maidenhead constituency for the official opening of a new hospice for seriously ill children. She clipped a ceremonial ribbon, gave a hug to Sir Michael Parkinson, the hospice patron, and displayed no sign that the deluge of wounding personal attacks and political setbacks sparked by Brexit had made any difference to her determination to press on with business as usual.

“Anyone would forgive her if she looked wrung out after everything she’s been through in the past week, but she doesn’t,” a…