As the years have rolled on, the enormous disadvantages of leaving the European Union have been there for all to see but the supposed benefits touted by those who brought us Brexit have remained entirely conspicuous by their absence.

“Car crash!” exclaimed managing director Andrew Varga, whose Brexit progress I have been following since the referendum. News of the latest Brexit U-turn landed on him on Tuesday out of the blue. All his years of preparation for a new UK product safety mark, all his thousands of pounds wasted, all the uncountable hours and effort were rendered pointless, at a stroke.

Trade has plummeted and red tape has blocked our borders. Is that what ‘protecting our sovereignty’ meant?