It TOOK Nosheena Mobarik just four days in the European Parliament to convert to the cause of Brexit.

Scotland’s newest MEP, still barely able to navigate the notoriously confusing corridors of power in Brussels and Strasbourg, had voted for Remain in the June 2016 EU referendum.

The Tory was already determined to make the best of Britain’s referendum decision in the poll, even if she did not like it.

But on her fourth day at Strasbourg she heard the President of the EU Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, set out his vision for a closer union after Brexit. And that clinched it for her.

Speaking in Strasbourg, Lady Mobarik, in her first press interview since taking office, said: “If anything, Mr Juncker’s speech made me feel we have done the right thing. If I had any doubts before, he dispelled those doubts.

“What he was talking about was a European superstate, joint presidency; about an EU defence force, an army; he was talking about a finance minster. He wants a veto on foreign policy.”

Observers have stressed that Mr Juncker, who also signalled he wants wider use of the euro in the bloc, may not get his wishes. There are plenty of figures in Europe, including leading major nations, who did not like his gambit, made as he told Britons they would “regret” their June 2016 vote.

Lady Mobarik acknowledged talk that Brexit could have acted as the midwife for the kind of greater European integration Mr Juncker envisages. “He probably would not have said this before,” she said, “but he sees an opening now. There will be others who hold those views too.”

The 59-year-old had never expected to be an MEP. She was third on the Conservative list in the 2014 EU elections, behind Ian Duncan and Belinda Don.

Since those elections there have been two major referendums, a Scottish parliamentary election and two general elections and the once plain Ms Mobarik has been elevated to the Lords. Mr Duncan stood in this year’s June General Election, but failed to win his chosen home-town Perthshire seat despite a Tory revival across the Highlands.

Instead, he was elevated to the Lords, as Baron Duncan of Springbank, so he could take up a post in Theresa May’s government.

Ms Don, a former MEP’s assistant in Brussels for 12 years, wanted to replace him.

That was, according to reports, vetoed by Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson. So, instead, the Tories went back to the House of Lords and found Lady Mobarik, who once chaired the CBI in Scotland, for the post.

The former businesswoman, now on a leave of absence from the Lords, admitted she was surprised at her new job. “I had not thought about it all, of course. I was doing a job in the House of Lords,” she said. “First of all, I don’t think any of us expected a General Election.

“When I was asked to do it, I was happy to serve. It is a great honour to serve Scotland and my party.”

Lady Mobarik thinks she can deliver for Scotland in the 18 months she has to serve. Her priorities, she says, are building good relationships with European partners and helping the country get the best out of Brexit.

The Pakistan-born peer said: “I voted Remain. But once the decision was made, I tabled for a debate in the Lords looking at global trade with Commonwealth and beyond.

“Immediately, once the shock was over, you had to think about the future and how do we move forward. I don’t think it does any good to keep focusing on the result one did not want.”

Lady Mobarik summed up her view of what a good Brexit would look like. She said: “We want as much access to the single market as possible and a smooth transition. We want the quality of life of people to remain good and to be better. We are the masters of our own future.”

Scottish and Welsh ministers have warned of a power grab by the UK over EU functions in devolved areas, such as fishing and agriculture. Lady Mobarik has little sympathy with this view.

She said: “Let’s get repatriation of powers to London sorted out first. Edinburgh has plenty of powers to get along with.

“This is about the UK and the EU. Really, this is the time to be working together and not pulling apart. That weakens our case. The strength will be in the unity we show as the UK.”

Asked if Welsh and Scottish representations hurt unity, she declined to comment. But added: “They are being included.”

The MEP has one other aim for herself: “My French is hopeless, but I intend for it to be excellent but the time I leave.”