EU chief slams ‘heartbreaking’ Brexit in biting ‘love letter’ but says Britain ‘will always be welcome back’

THE EUROPEAN Commission's vice president has slammed Brexit in a "love letter" to Britain, but says the country will "always be welcome back".

Frans Timmermans said Britain has inflicted "unnecessary damage" on itself and warns "more will follow" in his soppy letter.

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He said the UK's decision to leave "breaks my heart", but admitted the British people had always "been in two minds about the EU".

The Dutch national's warning comes as the UK is due to leave the European Union on January 31.

MPs passed Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit deal on December 20, just eight days after the Conservative Party won a landslide majority in the general election.

That date will start the clock running down to the end of the transition period during which London and Brussels will try to broker a future relationship including a trade deal.

In the letter, Mr Timmermans spoke about when he attended a British International School in Rome and fell in love with the UK before saying he wished the UK didn't force the issue.

He said he now feels like a spurned "old lover" over the split.

The Dutch national wrote in : "Was it necessary to force the issue? Not at all. But you did.

"Truth be told, I felt deeply hurt when you decided to leave. Three years later I am just sad that a member of our family wants to sever our ties.

"But at the same time I find comfort in the thought that family ties can never really be severed. We’re not going away and you will always be welcome to come back."

A number of politicians have reacted to the "love letter".

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Former Green Party leader Natalie Bennett, a new House of Lords peer, said the letter was "Something to remember. And thank you."

Andrew Adonis, Labour peer and ex-Transport Secretary, tweeted about the UK's return: "Just a matter of time".

Paul Oakley, the former UKIP general secretary, wrote: "Yuck. Just like a clingy ex, Frans Timmermans has written a soppy letter to Britain longing for our return to the EU."