For Liam Fox, the rancour over Theresa May's treatment at the hands of European leaders at the disastrous Salzburg summit still lingers.

In an interview with The Telegraph he said her treatment by EU leaders at the meeting, which saw them unanimously reject her Chequers plan, went "beyond the pale".

"I thought the behaviour was unacceptable," the International Trade Secretary said. "To openly taunt the Prime Minister, when of all people she is one the most polite and well mannered, was way beyond the pale.

"It reminded me of during the referendum when you heard voices saying Britain would have to be punished for leaving the EU. Then I said it was the language of a gang not a club."

The European Union, he said, once again demonstrated its "intransigence" by putting the "abstract purity" of the European project ahead of its own economic interests.