Chris Patten claimed many of the glittering prizes in British politics and society: cabinet minister under Margaret Thatcher and John Major, Chairman of the Conservative Party, European Commissioner, Chairman of the BBC and Chancellor of Oxford University.

But it was his time as the last Governor of Hong Kong – with that unforgettable image of him, eyes moist, having accepted the drawn down Union Jack and sailing out of Victoria Harbour on Britannia – that he says were the most worthwhile years of his stellar career.