During a delivery that was at times difficult to watch, a prankster handed her a P45 in front of hundreds of party members and there were uncomfortable pauses as she repeatedly lost her voice, before croaking and coughing through long sections.

The performance approached the ridiculous, when letters began falling off the sign bearing the Conservative party’s slogan on the set behind her.

Cabinet members applauded, but at times looked mortified – in one scene captured on camera, Home Secretary Amber Rudd appeared to demand Boris Johnson stand and clap.