I supported Britain remaining in the European Union and I understand very well the frustrations of those like Jean-Claude Juncker who keep saying the UK should not expect a free lunch.

That argument feeds into the hands of the Brexiteers who counter-argue thus: “But we bought the restaurant”. Over these many years the UK has been perchance an unwilling net contributor to the EU. Presently we pay in around £350 million a week net and receive a rebate back of £100 million. Hardly the greatest of bargains for a club member that might claim ownership of the fancy EU bistro which would like to settle a very odd bill.

That means every citizen of the UK pays in £200 per week to support the EU. How much do the other member countries pay, I wonder? On top of that, we pay in full for Nato support to discourage despots like Russia expanding into eastern Europe. How much do most European taxpayers pay? The simple answer is in the main – very little.

So the Brexiteers do have strong arguments until we look more closely at the figures. The subsidy we have been paying to the EU is equivalent to the tax smokers pay in the UK per annum to enjoy the doubtful benefits of nicotine addiction and similar to what we pay out in foreign aid. So the UK is both generous abroad but rather punitive at home when it comes to the price of a packet of cigarettes at least.

I turn my attention to corruption and the ‘secret shopper’. I have a friend who recently arrived in Malta to enjoy a holiday with his wife and friends. His experience at his hotel was second to none. He did not arrive under the guise of a potential investor in Malta.

In fact, most low-profile visitors who need to make independent judgements about the state of the Maltese economy are circumspect in the extreme. They are certainly not looking for the Maltese Tourism Authority to advertise their clients’ wares on private aircraft. Or indeed plaster their company offerings on billboards across the island.

I asked my friend to give me a quick comment about the touristexperience. Second to none. What about inward investment? “The country is shambolic and I cannot believe what I am reading. Everyone seems to be at each other’s throats and there is no sense of purpose here.”

I can tell you that at least one major UK bank will not now be looking towards Malta to create a European hub prior to Brexit. More to the point, there are many other ‘secret shoppers’ who see the wood for the trees and are saying “Let’s go to Luxembourg or Dublin”.

I have said what needs to be said and the politicians can discard it as they will. However, the secret shopper will stay around a while longer, and unless sense and sensibility returns to Malta pretty damn quick their reports will all become  very toxic to the economy and hence to every Maltese citizen, whether rich or poor.