An angry-sounding mumble of “federalists” or a shrill scream about “constitution by the back door” are the normal Eurosceptic responses to Europe-wide measures.

So it was with some surprise that I learned Chris Heaton-Harris, an arch-Eurosceptic Tory MEP, has called for Europe-wide measures to protect people against identity fraud.

He usually opposes European-wide measures of any sort, so I was curious to know what provoked this commendable U-turn. It turns out that he has himself been a victim of identity fraud, to the tune of £3,000.

Nothing like a dose of reality to change the mind of a self-styled "Euro-realist".