The latest attempts to scare the EU about no-deal Brexit are growing more ridiculous by the day

The ‘no deal is better than a bad deal’ bluff never worked on the EU, and neither will fake traffic jams

While MPs were away from Westminster, the Brexit news that dominated the national conversation was the awarding of a £14m shipping contract to a company that owns no ships.

On Monday morning, when parliament finally reconvened, it did so to the background mood music of a human-made, or rather government-made, artificial traffic jam on the road to Dover in Kent, dreamt up to show the EU we are serious about no-deal Brexit.