I too have been pondering this matter and have come up with a couple of suggestions which I think could well prove useful to Mrs May.

I have already mentioned, in my predictions for the year, the likelihood of Brexit negotiations becoming bogged down by the issue of the nomenclature of Brussels sprouts.

The British will, naturally enough, want to drop the reference to Brussels and just call them sprouts, but the beansprout lobby have already raised objections and the sprouting broccoli producers are thought to be limbering up for a long tussle.

We should remember, though, that the Member of the European Parliament for Shropshire and Stafford from 1984-1994 was none other than Sir Christopher Prout, who was therefore surely the original Brussels Prout after whom the vegetable may have been named by a simple process of sibilant elision.

If we cannot convince the Belgians of our rights with that argument, I have another idea which is sure to do the trick. Indeed, it has proved its worth many times in the past year in getting through sticky EU negotiations.

The idea is fudge. Looking through our newspaper database for 2017, I was amazed to find no fewer than 256 articles which included both the words “Brexit” and “fudge”. Our solution to problems over parliamentary responsibility for article 50 was described as “a fudge”.

Differences on the vexed matter of the Irish border were resolved by “a bit of a fudge”.

Both Conservative and Labour parties, we are told, have “fudged their philosophy” to avoid splits on Brexit.

These and dozens of similar examples have convinced me that the UK is in a great position to become the fudge capital of Europe. Going back to our newspaper database, I find as long ago as 2014, a headline proclaiming “Homemade fudge exports hit the sweet spot”, and last February, Fudge Kitchen reported that “We export to 20 countries”.

Surely it was no coincidence that later the very same month, I saw another headline saying “Trump plans to fudge data”.

And where do you imagine Trump is going to get the fudge he needs for that data? Surely our track record, as shown by the examples above, suggests that the UK is where he will turn for our great fudge experience.

With the US clamouring for a quick bilateral fudge deal, the EU will be desperate to obtain good terms for their own fudge imports. Fudge can become a vital ingredient in our EU trade deal and it is essential that we appoint a competent Fudge Minister with the utmost haste.

Finally, I must mention one property of fudge that further emphasises its appeal.

It begins its life at a high temperature, more liquid than solid and thoroughly malleable. As it cools it sets and becomes hard. An Irish border to suit all tastes, in fact.