On protests

The BBC reported the Government line that the protests in Luxembourg was down to "anti-Brexit supporters". This was repeated on all the evening radio bulletins I heard.

The truth is somewhat different, and shows that the effects of Brexit reach far beyond the white cliffs of Dover.

Some 8,000 Uk nationals, expats or UK immigrants depending on your point of view, many live in one country, work in another, and many more have married nations from various EU countries, with the expectation that they would always be able to live, work, study in any EU country.

Many have lived out of the UK many years, decades even, and so with Brexit, and no deal in particular, their families might not meet the new tough rules on immigration to the UK post-Brexit, meaning they will have to chose between their jobs and/or families.

On top of this, most EU national living in the EU were denied a vote in the referendum, but were promised by Vote Leave that nothing would change for them.

This is the group who were protesting, shouting "wanker" at Alexander de Piffel Johnson, and one of the reasons he failed to attend the joint news conference with Bettel. He would have been confronting the victims of his naked ambition.

So he ran.

He would also have to have faced down Bettel contradicting his claim that negotiations are not only under way, but close to a breakthrough, when all EU leaders deny this, and indeed, called yesterday for clarity on any ideas the UK has on a solution.

And seeing there is just two days left of the 30 days Brexiteers claimed Merkal had given Johnson, they had better be busy.