‘The lawyers say they have nothing to say about it. For once.’

‘Because they’re afraid to commit themselves?’

‘Probably.’ Robin shrugged and turned to Charles. ‘This is not in any way to detract from your sterling contribution to the national weal but I’m pretty sure the sort of agreement that’s emerging would have emerged anyway, one way or another. More slowly, perhaps, and with more scope for things to go wrong, but something very like it.’

‘’Course it would,’ said the foreign secretary, ‘because what we were selling them was the truth. We just gave them a helping hand to realise it. It’s just as Charles said – successful spying makes everyone happy. They mounted an operation against us to persuade us of their bottom line, we turned it against them and used it to persuade them of our top line and of our preparedness to walk away without a deal and without paying a single centime – which, though true, was what neither of us wanted – and so both sides decided to settle for the halfway house that was always the sensible solution. We may not be there yet but we shall be so long as – as Charles also said – none of this comes out. It’s only when spying is discovered that people are unhappy. That’s right, isn’t it?’

Charles nodded. He wasn’t sure he had said anything in quite those terms but was happy that the foreign secretary, a magpie with other people’s ideas and phrases, should make his case for him.

‘Talking of which, you know that Tresco submission got the green light?’ the foreign secretary continued. ‘The prime minister agreed that that murdering bastard should be bumped off with help from your man Herm. He flayed a man, you know, flayed him alive, the murdering bastard.’

‘I had heard, yes. Before I went to Brussels.’

‘Well, it’s happened. He was zapped by an RAF drone. We heard this morning from the MOD, hasn’t been announced yet. Your Herm chap managed the phone switch-over and the new phone beckoned the drone in and it got him. The flayer, that is. Hope Herm got himself out of the way in time.’

‘So do I. We should have heard by now. I’ll find out whether he’s been in contact when I get back to the office.’

‘There was another chap zapped as well, another Brit. In the same car, apparently. No name yet but it turns out this chap was delivering the new phones from this so-called charity that’s been supplying the so-called Islamic State with kit intended for real charities. Police and Charity Commission have been investigating it for some time. Going to be closed down now.’

‘Definitely another Brit?’