Philip Hammond tells EU to come up with its own plan for Brexit – instead of obsessing over how to punish Brits for voting to Leave

PHILIP Hammond tonight told the EU to come up with its own plan for Brexit - instead of obsessing over how to punish British voters for leaving the bloc.

He attacked Brussels for its “silence” on what it wants from our future relationship.

And turning the tables, the Chancellor told European leaders and Eurocrats they must specify what they want from a post-Brexit trade deal instead of sitting back and waiting for Britain to do all the legwork.

He told a key economic summit in Berlin - attended by Angela Merkel and a host of top German business chiefs - that Britain had been given no sign of what future relationship the 27 EU member states wanted.

It’s the latest sign of Mr Hammond’s tough-talking approach with Brussels after facing widespread criticism from Tory MPs of his anti-Brexit stance last year.

And It was part of a twin charm offensive in Germany - with Brexit Secretary David Davis today meeting the country’s business chiefs in Munich to urge them to put pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel to offer Britain a bespoke trade deal.

Speaking the Die Welt economic summit he told the EU to move on from the “narrative of ‘punishment’” and focus on the “mutually beneficial relationships we have now and can continue in the future”.

Mr Hammond said: “They say, ‘It takes two to tango’: Both sides need to be clear about what they want from a future relationship.

“I know the repeated complaint from Brussels has been that the UK ‘hasn’t made up its mind what type of relationship it wants’, but in London many feel that we have little, if any, signal of what future relationship the EU27 would like to have with a post-Brexit Britain.

“Since the referendum in the UK, there has been a marked asymmetry between the enthusiasm expressed by certain third countries to pursue future trade deals with the UK and the relative silence, in public at least, from Europe on what the EU wants our future relationship to look like.

“I am saying this to you tonight because I fear that many EU opinion-formers see this as a question only for British politicians, for British voters to resolve, before they engage with the EU27.”

But Mr Hammond suffered a blow to his demand that any post-Brexit trade deal includes financial services.

German officials said the EU will only offer an agreement that includes financial services if Britain agrees to make substantial payments to the EU budget and also complies with EU law.

But these are two of Theresa May's biggest red lines - making a bespoke deal for the City unlikely.

The officials - who work in two key government departments in Berlin - told Bloomberg that Germany will reject any "cherry-picking" by Britain.

And demonstrating its hardening stance, Germany will ask the EU to include its conditions in its Brexit negotiating guidelines.