If this speech was supposed to offer an olive branch to Remainers, Boris must have picked up the other version.

A clear majority of Remain and Leave voters oppose the damaging hard Brexit Boris so vigorously advocates.

They do not want job cuts triggered by tougher trading conditions with our largest export market or life-threatening uncertainty at the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Boris’s antipathy towards the common rules and standards which apply within the EU, and to trade within the EU, is in stark contrast to Brexiters head-long rush to adopt common standards with the US which would require the UK to accept chlorine-washed chicken, hormone-fed beef, GMO products and potentially open up the NHS to US private health companies.

If Boris is seeking to establish himself as the standard bearer of liberalism, he should dump plans to come out of the Single Market and Customs Union and campaign to stay in the world’s largest free trade area.

He could also bolster his liberal credentials by giving people a vote on the deal and an exit from Brexit.