It was the biggest and boldest speech that we have seen from a European leader since the days of Jacques Delors. As the EU Commission President swept aside the issue of Brexit and the pesky Brits to set out his plans for a centralised EU state, I could not help feeling relieved that we had left in the nick of time.

Even the most fanatical of European federalists could not believe their ears as Juncker called for a more active foreign policy that removed the veto rights of every nation.

This is to be backed-up by a full EU defence union by 2025. The European army so easily dismissed by Nick Clegg and others as a fantasy is now becoming a worrying reality.

Juncker’s claim that all this was supported by Nato is simply a cover for the deep anti-Americanism that is never far from the surface in Brussels.