Instead of the potentially dramatic scene of a union jack being lowered against the midnight sky when Britain leaves the EU on 31 January, parliament grounds staff will remove the flags without ceremony at an unconfirmed time.

One flag will then be despatched to the House of History, the EU-funded museum in Brussels that aims to tell the story of the continent, from ancient Greek myths to Brexit referendum promises.

Brexit party MEPs had lobbied for a flag-lowering ceremony, a Brussels analogue to the campaign to have Big Ben "Bong for Brexit" in London. Instead, the European parliament president, David Sassoli, will preside over a low-key ceremony with British MEPs on the evening of 29 January, shortly after the entire parliament votes on the Brexit withdrawal agreement.