Jean-Claude Juncker angrily warns ‘Brexit cannot be a success’ after Theresa May tells EU chief at tense dinner UK will not pay ‘divorce bill’
EU CHIEF Jean-Claude Juncker attacked Theresa May behind her back to Angela Merkel after the Prime Minister refused to pay a penny in any Brexit 'divorce bill'.
Extraordinary details have emerged from a tempestuous dinner at Downing Street last week, which led to the phone call between the Brussels boss and the German Chancellor.
The European Commission chief’s attempt to get Britain to cough up in order to exit the bloc was once again rebuffed by Mrs May.
In response his side has appeared to have leaked insider info from the meeting Mr Juncker had along with the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier at No10 to German newspaper .
It reports that he warned that "Brexit cannot be a success" and EU aides were now suggesting the chances of a deal are less than 50%.
Mrs May insisted the UK does not owe the EU any money because there is nothing to that effect in the treaties.
Her guests, who have been calling for Britain to hand over up to €60billion, apparently told her the EU is not a golf club.
David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, suggested that once the UK is out of the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice it could not be forced to pay.
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Mr Juncker said the UK would not get a trade deal then – but Mrs May has repeatedly insisted leaving the EU with no deal would be better than taking a “bad deal” anyway.
The President of the European Commission reportedly then told Mrs May as he exited: "I leave Downing Street ten times as sceptical as I was before."
The newspaper then reveals he called Ms Merkel and said the PM was living “in another galaxy” was “totally deluding herself”.
This led the German leader to alter her speech to her own Parliament where she included the line that "some in Britain still have illusions" over Brexit.
The leaks from the dinner also allege Mrs May wants an early deal on EU citizens in the UK and Brit expats on the continent – but it is the EU that is dragging their feet.
She suggested the issue could be agreed at the European Council meeting at the end of June, but Mr Juncker objected to this timetable as way too optimistic.
In response a Government spokesman said: “We do not recognise this account.
“As the Prime Minister and Jean-Calude Juncker made clear, this was a constructive meeting ahead of negotiations formally getting underway.”
But Labour said it showed the PM was misjudging “her hand at every turn, weakening Britain’s position”.
Keir Starmer, Shadow Brexit Secretary, said: “Whatever the purpose of these leaks, this is a deeply worrying account and further evidence that Theresa May’s rigid and complacent approach to Brexit negotiations risks leading Britain over a cliff edge.”