There was a certain irony this week in the euro-sceptic author Bernard Connolly turning to the European Court of Justice to seek redress after losing his job. . .at the European Commission.

Mr Connolly, who boasts Irish blood, was scathing of the impending European Economic and Monetary Union in The Rotten Heart of Europe: the Dirty War for Europe's Money. The book was written while the economist was on leave from his post at the Commission, but without its knowledge or sanction. Not surprisingly, Mr Connolly was sacked.

You would have thought him well pleased. He obviously did not believe in the institution or its direction. But no, Mr Connolly went to the court pleading unfair dismissal.

The court turned him down saying his book did not merely criticise his employers, but insulted them and ruling that any working relationship between the two had broken down. As Mr Connolly has discovered, it pays to think twice before biting the hand that feeds you.