Yet again, Johnson let it be known that a "no-deal" (err... sorry, "Australian terms") Brexit is looming. And Gove, his Brexit minister-in-chief, told Theresa May on Monday that he agreed with her that "no deal was better than a bad deal". Not that May agreed with him: quite the contrary. She stood up in the House to put his glib assertions on the "readiness" of the country for "no-deal", into question.

    But of course as Gove himself said, the door is still "ajar". This Tuesday, Johnson sat down with company bosses behind closed doors, to reassure them that they wouldn't lose out either way, if only because he'd "liberate" them from all onerous EU (and British) regulations which might prevent them from turning the screw further on their workers. And never mind any increased no-deal tariffs, because cuts in workforce numbers, wages and conditions, could more than make up for that... Johnson's easy solution: make workers pay! Yes, those same workers around whom he and Sunak claim to put their “protective” arms!

    In fact despite his anti-EU prejudice, Sunak doesn't hesitate to summon EU countries as examples when he needs them. He boasted that his Job Support Scheme is "highly competitive", paying "the same" percentage of wages as "other EU countries". But the minimum wage, which in Britain is £8.72/hr, (only for over 25s!), is higher in France at £9.13/hr and in Germany, where it is £9.35/hr, without age limits!

    Anyway, everyone knows by now why the talks with the EU broke down: fish, which carry no passports, but are claimed as "British"... And, irony of all ironies, Johnson's sudden love for state aid to "level-up" the voters "up North" who helped anoint him last December. Who believes in that, will also believe in King Boris's "Moonshot".

    It was entirely predictable that at this stage of his wheeling and dealing, Johnson would tell EU negotiators that he no longer wanted to play ball - and that it was all their fault, because they were cheating. Obviously, if and when a deal is back on, he can claim that the EU has made a huge compromise in his favour, whether or not it is true. And it won't be, of course.