Throughout the long and drawn-out process of leaving the EU, the most baffling thing has been how some seem to regard the pronouncements of that wondrous body, the European Commission. For lo, these are holy writ.

When the Commission says something, it is deemed to be infallible, its opinions inevitable and, most intriguingly of all, its approach entirely disinterested. This detached, Olympian body never “pushes a line”, it simply hands down great thunderbolts of truth.

In the run-up to the European Council Theresa May attends this week, it is time for the genuine truth and real facts to be faced up to. These are as the Prime Minister insists they are, not as the Commission and its cheerleaders here invent.

We have sought sincerely to cooperate with the Commission. Indeed, we have already made startling concessions to be seen to be doing just that. Yet all that Brussels does is bank those, ignore its own proclaimed “values” and sacred legal order, and await the next concession that British opponents of Brexit insist we must make to the EU. Rhyme and reason do not apply, but ultimately facts will out and here are some of the facts the Prime Minister will insist upon in Brussels this week.