Russia is also now threatening to close the 1,200km Nord Stream pipeline which, since 2011, has pumped gas to Germany. Even during the Cold War, the Soviets didn’t block gas exports to the West.

This East-West economic war extends way beyond energy – not least to food. Russia is a major producer of wheat and others crops, millions of tons of which are shipped via the Black Sea, which is now mired in conflict. Many leading sea-freight lines now anyway refuse to handle Russian goods.

That’s causing food prices to spiral, turning attention to UK domestic production. But with fuel and fertiliser prices also soaring, farmers costs are rapidly rising too, making homegrown food more expensive.

Fertiliser is often made from a combination of gas and potash – a mineral produced in vast quantities by Russia and its ally Belarus, now also under export embargo. Fertiliser prices in the UK, about £200 a tonne a year ago, are now hurtling towards £1,000 as farmers panic buy and both gas and potash prices surge.

“We’re suffering serious agricultural inflation,” says the National Farmers Union, which is why shoppers are now suffering price rises at the supermarket and corner shop too. Yes, Britain can grow more food and we produce almost half of our own fertiliser. But this East-West economic war means farmers’ costs are skyrocketing, not least the cost of fertiliser and fuel.

It is against this backdrop that ministers are contemplating the UK’s food and energy security. The Government is due to unveil a new energy strategy in the coming days that could include a change of heart on fracking.

Shale wells have been developed in various locations across Britain – including two Lancashire sites run by the energy company Cuadrilla that have laid dormant since the 2019 moratorium.