It was, a minister present remarked, “the saddest moment of cabinet”. Theresa May, her administration and reputation on the line, laid out why she needed to change the government’s Brexit policy, despite making the ultimate sacrifice. “I offered my resignation and still the deal didn’t go through,” she said, reflecting on the three crushing defeats her deal with Brussels had suffered at the hands of MPs.

There was one attempt to cheer up the prime minister. When she referred to her offer to stand down, the energy minister Claire Perry yelled: “Revoke it!”

This sly reference to the threat of remainers overturning Brexit provoked laughter from ministers, but not from May. “The whole room laughed but the PM was not laughing,” a cabinet source