My argument that Britain should prevent Gazprom, the Russian gas company that is in effect an arm of a potentially hostile Kremlin, from getting a hold on its gas market was widely criticised. But if you don't believe me, listen to Andrei Illarionov, a former Kremlin adviser who fell out with President Putin's team.

He says Europe must stand up to Russia's new energy tsars by insisting on open and transparent business rules in Russia's energy sector. Otherwise, he says, the Europeans will find themselves at the mercy of the Russian state, and so face "a cold, dark future".