Theresa May has highlighted warnings from the German Chancellor that the UK will be worse off after Brexit to argue that she needs every vote at the General Election.

In a speech in Leeds, the Prime Minister seized on Angela Merkel’s comments on UK “illusions” about the process of leaving the European Union.

Mrs May said that the remarks showed “how tough those negotiations are going to be at times”.

She hit out at opposition parties again accusing them of seeking to disrupt the exit talks ”at the same time as 27 other European countries line up to oppose us”.

“That approach can only mean one thing – uncertainty and instability, bringing grave risk to our growing economy with higher taxes, fewer jobs, more waste and more debt.”

She added: “So we need the strongest possible hand, the strongest possible mandate and the strongest possible leadership as we go into those talks.”

"Every vote" would strengthen her hand when she negotiates with the Prime Ministers, Presidents and Chancellors of Europe, she said.

Earlier Mrs Merkel warned that the UK had "illusions" about the realities of Brexit, which were a "waste of time".

The UK will not have the same rights as member states after it leaves the bloc, she said.

And she again ruled out holding trade negotiations before the UK agreed to pay its ‘divorce bill’.

Addressing the German ahead of an EU summit this weekend where European leaders are due to formally agree their Brexit negotiation guidelines, Mrs Merkel said "you may think that all this is self-evident. But I have to put this so clearly because I get the impression that some in Great Britain still have illusions about this, and that is a waste of time.”

She added: “We can only make a deal about Britain’s future relationship to the EU once all questions about the terms of its exit can be clarified to a satisfying degree.

“That means the sooner the British government is prepared to find constructive solutions, the sooner we can engage with their desire to already talk during the exit negotiations about the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union. But first we need to know how Great Britain sees its future relationship with us.”

Labour’s national elections chair Andrew Gwynne accused Mrs May of going to “extraordinary lengths to blinker the British public and make this election about anything other than her record in government.”

He added that the people of Leeds “won’t be fooled”.