Time’s running out, warn tetchy Europe leaders

A WAR of words erupted between Britain and Europe last night over delays which could wreck hopes of a Brexit deal by the autumn.

An acrimonious summit in Brussels saw European leaders lining up to warn Theresa May she is running out of time to strike a deal before the UK’s scheduled exit in March next year.

But British sources hit back, accusing Brussels of failing to ‘engage with our proposed solutions, and deliver on their commitment to accelerate discussions’.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: ‘Time is of the essence because by October we have to have an idea on the situation of Britain and we have no real solution to the issue of the Irish border yet.’ EU president Donald Tusk said it was ‘the last call to lay the cards down on the table’.

And the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier added that ‘serious divergence remains’ between the two sides, particularly on the issue of the Irish border. He publicly invited Brexit Secretary David Davis for emergency talks on Monday.

But Mrs May said: ‘We are going to be publishing our white paper shortly and I want to see the negotiations accelerating and intensifying thereafter.’