... and Tusk is shot down for his crummy cake joke
DONALD Tusk was hit with a backlash yesterday over his childish dig at Theresa May on social media.
The European Council President had posted a picture of himself on Instagram offering Mrs May a tier of tempting cakes during the Salzburg summit.
The post was accompanied with the words ‘A piece of cake, perhaps? Sorry, no cherries.’
This was an apparent jibe at Mrs May’s Chequers plan, which EU leaders have dismissed as ‘cherry picking’ in relation to the proposal for Britain to stay only part-aligned to the single market.
It was also interpreted as mocking the PM because of the view in Brussels that Britain wants to ‘have its cake and eat it’.
Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab led criticism against the stunt, saying: ‘I think some of the way that it was done, social media against the Prime Minister didn’t feel like very statesman-like behaviour. We’ve already compromised hugely with the Chequers proposals.’
Tory MP Charlie Elphicke said the post was ‘extraordinarily disrespectful’. Even Remain campaigner Gina Miller criticised Mr Tusk’s social media post, saying the photo was ‘childish’.
Brussels officials insisted the post was an attempt to reach a younger audience.
One said: ‘Nobody should see it as another provocation, it was really meant to be innocent.’ Another said: ‘We were taking the difficulty of the situation and giving it a soft touch.’
Mr Tusk appeared to address the criticism swirling around the social media post yesterday. In a statement released last night he said he was a ‘true admirer’ of Mrs May and described himself as a ‘close friend’ of the UK.