He's also a UKIP member in the European parliament – or, as he puts it, "one of the turkeys who voted for Christmas".

UKIPpers have never been popular in Brussels, and since the Brexit referendum, he really gets up the nose of his fellow parliamentarians.

But he takes it calmly. After all, his side won.

And he is scathing of his fellow MEPs. He says he senses desperation in Brussels.

That's why Australia's trade and foreign ministers had such a warm welcome here, he says. Post-Brexit, and with other free trade deals on shaky ground, the EU is desperate for friends.

"I think they're going to be in a hurry to try and get this [Australia:EU trade agreement] through," he says. "It sounds to me as though there's just a little bit of panic.

"I'm a great reader of body language and that's the impression I got in the room today… the problem the European Union have got is not just Britain but other countries, from the left and centre and right across the European Union there are many countries now questioning its direction.

"I think their huge concern is contagion."

He's dismissive of his colleagues from Britain in the parliament, suggesting they are more loyal to "the European project" than their home country.

"The proof of the pudding is in the eating," he says, pointing out that both a Labour and a Conservative MEP spoke out on Thursday against negotiations for a trade agreement between the UK and Australia, saying a deal with the EU must come first.

"They're upset because they lost the referendum," he says. "I have to question what their loyalties are.

"It's not about the interests of the 28 member states here, it's about the interests of the European Union as a corporate body."

He thinks it's entirely appropriate for the UK and Australia to start talks over a future free trade agreement.

"What do we do, do we sit on our hands for two and a half years and then suddenly play catchup?" he says.