The lack of ‘Brexit opportunities’ has been laid bare – good job Jacob Rees-Mogg is on the case

German figures show UK exports to the country slumped last year just a day after Rees-Mogg’s appointment as Brexit opportunities minister, says James Moore

Brexit opportunities: lorries queueing on the A20 to enter the port of Dover in Kent

(PA Archive)

His premiership may have turned into what the Americans describe as a dumpster fire – and an increasingly sinister one at that – but at least Boris Johnson hasn’t lost his flair for comedy.

His appointment of Jacob Rees-Mogg to the post of “Brexit opportunities minister” is his best joke for some time. He might just as well have named his follow old Etonian minister for pink elephants, or secretary of state for sea serpents, yetis and the Loch Ness monster.

OK, maybe not the last of those. Rees-Mogg goes down like a cup of cold sick north of the border. Nessie might spontaneously pop into existence and chase him and his aides south of Hadrian’s Wall were he to venture into its supposed stomping ground.