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“If he was to come out as a eurosceptic they would probably stop his pension. “And I hope in future when Lord Patten stands up and speaks in this way in the House of Lords, he declares an

interest before he does so.” Speaking on the anniversary of Theresa May triggering Article 50, the former European Commissioner claimed the government has failed to come up with credible

plans for the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic post-Brexit. He said: "The Government have still not produced any even half-baked solution to the border question, though

they have promised again and again that they will do so," the peer will say. "There is a simple answer to the Northern Ireland border question and too much else besides. Let's

stay in the Customs Union. "The message to the Conservative Cabinet should be simply: 'You know it makes sense'. That is, I predict, more or less what will happen." Lord

Patten also claimed Brexit Secretary David Davis "seems less confident now that the discussions have turned out to be more difficult than the promised walk in the park". In a

rival speech at the event, Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg said Remainers who refuse to accept the result of the European Union referendum are like the Japanese soldier who refused to surrender

after the Second World War ended. Mr Rees-Mogg, who chairs the Conservative pro-Brexit European Research Group, said reneging on the referendum result would be a national humiliation worse

than the Suez crisis. He likened opponents of Brexit to Japanese soldier Hiroo Onoda, who spent 29 years in the jungle because he did not believe the war was over. The Tory MP said:

"With one year to go before the technical date of departure, this is the challenge to the decreasing number of remainders who model themselves on Mr Hiroo Onoda, the Japanese soldier

who finally surrendered in 1974 having previously refused to believe that the Second World War had ended."