Next says its hoodies will get in fine in event of no deal Brexit. Pity about the food and meds

The retailer even claimed there may be "modest" price reductions thanks to the government's emergency tariff plan that may be illegal under WTO rules

Next's Brexiteer boss Simon Wolfson - a cut above Tim Martin

Hey Britain: here’s something to cheer you up if you’re worried about food and medication in the event Theresa May tips us all off a cliff. Next says chill your boots. You’ll still be able to buy hoodies.

Yep, that was one of the takeaways from the results of the clothes retailer, which is run by Brexit backing Tory peer Simon Wolfson. We have, he declared, all the contingency plans we need in place to be able to ensure our supplies. Next, of course, is a very big business so it has the money to be able to afford them by contrast to, say, many of the Institute of Directors’ smaller members, some 40 per cent of which haven't acted largely because they can’t. They don’t have the resources.

Better still for Next is that it doesn’t rely on Dover or Calais, which is where the major problems are expected in the event of a no deal Breixt. Why? Well, you see, Next imports from non EU countries where they pay seamstresses pennies to produce its clobber. It comes in via other routes, and the retailer, which again, is a big, rich company, has managed to find alternatives to them if it should have any problems.

But there’s more: the emergency tariff reductions that the government plans to protect consumers - even though they may be completely illegal under the World Trade Organisation rules that fruit loop Brexiteers keep banging on about supporting - might result in some “modest” price reductions “in the medium term”.

So hey, your size M top (because you’ll have lost weight) could be 50p cheaper in a few months. Isn’t that nice?

“Our feeling is that there is a level of fatigue around the subject that leaves consumers numb to the daily swings in the political debate,” the statement went on.

That was justified by reference to the fact that Next’s sales have held up quite well. But it came barely a day after a petition had been put up on the government’s website calling for the revocation of Article 50 and for the UK to remain in the EU. It attracted nearly 1m signatures in very short order. By the time you read this that number will likely have been eclipsed. As one of my friends said, people have been putting their names to it “quicker than a rat up a drain pipe”.

That doesn’t look to me like fatigue. It looks like another word beginning with F, fury, in the wake of the Prime Ministers toxic “on your side” speech and her conduct.

There aren’t many “out” Brexiteers among the business community. Partly that is because, while business leaders don’t always have a lot of love for the institution, they recognise that leaving it will be bad for the economy and bad for their companies. Partly it is because they don’t much like the idea of standing side by side with the likes of Wetherspoon’s boss Tim Martin.

Wolfson is a cut above him as a businessman. A big cut. Next proved that with its results. The outfit has had its difficulties in recent years, but while profit eased a bit the online business is growing like the clappers and it looks in decent shape. It might not have many bricks and mortar stores in its long term future, but it’ll be around long after lots of other retailers have failed.

Its CEO is also entitled to his views, and it’s fine to reassure investors that Next is prepped for what may come. But sadly, the way it was done in this case was crass, self serving, and completely tone deaf.