Juncker calls on UK to ‘get your act together’ over withdrawal vote

BREXIT: Appeal by EC president – while Fox warns failure to back May puts UK leaving at risk

Jean-Claude Juncker has called on the United Kingdom to “get your act together” over Brexit, branding some Britons “entirely unreasonable” for expecting Brussels to put forward a solution.

The European Commission president also rejected claims of a plot to keep the UK in the EU “by all possible means” and revealed he fears the majority of MPs “deeply distrust” both the EU and Theresa May.

The top Eurocrat’s comments to German newspaper Welt am Sonntag were published as Cabinet Brexiteer Liam Fox said thes chances of Britain leaving the European Union will be little more than “50-50” if the prime minister’s deal is rejected by parliament.

The international trade secretary warned fellow MPs that failure to pass Mrs May’s deal would be “incendiary” and said it was “a matter of honour” for them to support the PM.

MPs are due to vote on the withdrawal agreement in the week of January 14 after Mrs May, facing the prospect of a significant defeat, pulled the original date of December 11.

However, the bid to buy more time to secure key concessions on the Irish backstop, the key flashpoint for DUP and Brexiteer detractors of the deal, appeared to falter when her fellow leaders refused to change the legal text of the agreement.

The PM said talks would continue, although the EU has repeatedly warned negotiations over the withdrawal agreement will not be reopened.

Should MPs reject it when they vote in the coming weeks it could raise the prospect of no-deal and with it the risk of heavy economic consequences for the UK and EU, or a second referendum on Brexit.

Mr Juncker said: “It is not us who are leaving the United Kingdom – it is the United Kingdom that is leaving the European Union.

“I find it entirely unreasonable for parts of the British public to believe that it is for the EU alone to propose a solution for all future British problems.

“My appeal is this: Get your act together and then tell us what it is you want. Our proposed solutions have been on the table for months.”

Pictures: Getty Images. European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox is warning that the chances of Britain leaving the EU will be “50-50” if the prime minister’s withdrawal deal is rejected by parliament.