It’s getting out of hand! Tusk pleads for calm on Brexit

DonalD Tusk took a further swipe at Theresa May last night, as he warned that Brexit would fail ‘if our emotions get out of hand’.

The EU president intervened after senior Brussels officials dismissed Mrs May’s claim that they are trying to sabotage the British general election by talking down Brexit.

Mr Tusk appeared to warn the Prime Minister against ramping up the rhetoric further.

‘These negotiations are difficult enough as they are,’ he said. ‘If we start arguing before they even begin, they will become impossible. The stakes are too high. We can’t let our emotions get of hand because at stake are the daily lives and interests of millions of people on both sides of the Channel.’

Mr Tusk also appeared to issue a coded warning to European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker who has been accused of triggering the row with london by leaking a poisonous account of a dinner with Mrs May to German newspapers.

‘We must keep in mind that in order to succeed we need discretion, moderation, mutual respect and a maximum of goodwill,’ he said.

Mrs May stunned Brussels on Wednesday by accusing senior EU politicians and officials of issuing threats and leaks ‘deliberately timed to affect the result of the general election’.

The move follows days of leaks from Brussels, including reports that the EU will demand an £85billion divorce payment from the UK before starting trade talks.

Sources close to Mr Tusk last night said his intervention was intended for both sides, hinting at anger in the bloc about damaging leaks from Mr Juncker’s office.

Martin Selmayr, the commission president’s chief of staff, has been blamed for releasing the claim that Mrs May was ‘on a different galaxy’ regarding Brexit.

Tory Eurosceptic Jacob Rees-Mogg said Mrs May had been right to speak out, adding: ‘They are deliberately trying to sway votes in the election against the Conservatives. Fortunately, they are so inept, they will end up helping us.’

European Parliament president antonio Tajani flatly denied that EU bosses had an interest in the election.

‘We will not influence the debate in the UK,’ he said. ‘We have only said we will defend our interests.’

Dismissing Mrs May’s claims as election ‘rhetoric’, he said he believed her likely victory in the election will make the Brexit process smoother.

Mr Tajani, who will oversee the parliament’s vote on sanctioning a final Brexit bill, recalled giving his support to the poll during a visit to Downing Street last month.

‘It would lead to having an interlocutor who does not have a problem winning votes, who has already won elections and who can work for a good solution,’ he said.

Mr Tajani however repeated the message adopted by EU officials that Britain will not be allowed to have the same benefits as remaining member states as a result of any deal.

It had been expected that Mr Juncker would respond to the accusations from Mrs May, but a scheduled public appearance was cancelled at the last-minute yesterday.

His spokesman, Margaritis Schinas, hinted that his boss believed the Prime Minister had used her speech as a negotiating tactic. ‘We are not naive,’ he said, claiming to be too busy to refute the accusations in detail.

EU diplomats expressed bemusement at the Prime Minister’s accusations and said she is widely seen as the best person to lead Brexit talks. a source added: ‘We have long said that calling the election was the best thing for Theresa May to do.’

‘They will end up helping us’