Theresa May will channel the gung-ho spirit of Evel Knievel in triggering Article 50 because she’s fairly sure nothing ever went wrong for him, she has said.

Although it begins an irreversible process the outcome of which she has not calculated and does not know, that’s exactly the attitude Evel took on the run-up to a jump, so it should all be fine, the Prime Minister has reassured the nation.

Mrs May said: “Think of one as a leap by a daredevil who knows the landing ramp may be inadequate but is in too deep and willing to risk everything but losing face by backing-out.

“And the other as a jump by Evel Knievel. He famously always walked away from those. I’m sure of it.”

A Number 10 source said: “How do we tell her he broke more bones than any other human in history?

“Help us.”