European figures say they won’t punish Britain for leaving EU after Theresa May warned she would walk away from a bad trade deal
They played down suggestions Brussels could seek to deter other nations from leaving the bloc with tough trade terms
EUROPEAN figures have distanced themselves from the idea of punishing Britain for leaving the EU after Theresa May said she would rather quit negotiations than sign a bad trade deal.
Czech secretary of state for EU affairs Tomas Prouza and Latvian ambassador to the UK Baiba Braze played down suggestions Brussels could seek to deter other nations from leaving the bloc by imposing tough trade terms on Britain.
It comes after the Prime Minister warned the EU drafting a punitive deal for the UK for quitting would be "an act of calamitous self-harm" and that she would be willing to go it alone.
EU figures including the European Parliament's chief negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt, have insisted the UK cannot enjoy better terms outside the union than member states.
But Mr Prouza said it was "definitely" in the EU's interest to have as free trade with the UK as possible, although he stressed there must be a way to enforce rules, given Mrs May's promise to leave the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.
He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "We have never seen any political leaders calling for any sort of punishment. What we want is something that makes sense to both sides."
But Mr Prouza also cautioned that 18 months is not "that much time" to get a deal in place, and warned the UK that "xenophobia" and "whipping up national sentiments" would lead to a bad relationship with the EU.
He singled out Home Secretary Amber Rudd's abandoned idea of making companies draw up lists of foreign workers.
And he criticised Mrs May for not guaranteeing the rights of EU nationals already in Britain when she spelt out her Brexit strategy in a major speech on Tuesday.
Ms Braza called on EU politicians to listen to businesses in their countries who want a good trading relationship with the UK after Brexit.
"Punishment if we start shooting ourselves in the leg or try to harm each other, that's the way down, that's not going to lead anywhere positive," she told the same programme.
"So again, there has to be a way that we still remember that we are friends and allies above anything else, with common friends and common interests in the world.";
Their comments come after foul-mouthed MEPs tore into Mrs May yesterday for her speech, with one slamming the PM for effectively telling the EU to “go *** yourself”.