Theresa May will today begin her attempt to change the Brexit deal with Brussels after EU exasperation spilled over when Donald Tusk claimed there would be "a special place in hell" for those who promoted Britain’s withdrawal without having a plan to deliver it.
The European Council President’s remarks sparked outrage among Brexiteers, who branded them “spiteful” and “disgraceful” and demanded an apology.
This morning, the Prime Minister will travel to Brussels, trying to set aside the row caused by Mr Tusk’s comments with the message: “We must show determination and do what it takes to now get the deal over the line.”
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After Commons votes, which rejected Mrs May initial plan and called for the Irish backstop to be “replaced by alternative arrangements,” she stressed at the weekend how she would return to the Belgian capital “armed with a fresh mandate, new ideas and a renewed determination to agree a pragmatic solution”.
However, following talks with parties in Northern Ireland, her diplomatic initiative has been hampered by Mr Tusk’s outburst.
It came as the former Polish premier was speaking alongside Leo Varadkar, the Irish Prime Minister, following discussions in Brussels on preparations for what Mr Tusk described as the "fiasco" of a no-deal Brexit on March 29.
The Council President stressed the EU was not making "any new offer" and was hoping to hear from Mrs May about "a realistic suggestion on how to end the impasse”.
He then concluded: "I have been wondering what that special place in hell looks like for those who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan to carry it out safely."
Read more: Theresa May on collision course with DUP today over Irish backstop
Smiling and laughing, Mr Varadkar turned to his host and said: "They'll give you terrible trouble[for that tweet]."
Mr Tusk also made clear he had now lost hope that the UK's decision to leave could be reversed in a second referendum due to the "pro-Brexit stance of the UK Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition".
But his remarks caused a storm at Westminster.
Andrea Leadsom, the Commons Leader, claimed the Council President had “no manners” and called on him to apologise for his "disgraceful" and "spiteful" comments.
John Longworth, the Leave Means Leave campaign chief, said his words showed "nothing but utter disrespect for the will of the British people,” while Sammy Wilson for the Democratic Unionists claimed: "This devilish Euro maniac is doing his best to keep the UK bound by the chains of EU bureaucracy and control."
No 10 tred a diplomatic line, saying: "It's a question for Donald Tusk as to whether he considers the use of that type of language helpful.”
But the SNP’s Ian Blackford suggested his comments showed a “sense of frustration that there is no end to this soap opera”.
However, it seems clear Mrs May’s meeting today with Mr Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission President, will not provide a final resolution to the Brexit crisis. No 10 said that it was simply “part of the process”.
Leading Conservative Leavers and Remainers, who have met for the last three days to bottom out the so-called Malthouse Compromise, will not be ready to hand over their plan to Mrs May today.
It seeks to provide an alternative - using technology to maintain an open Irish border alongside an extended transition period to December 2021 - that can command the support of both wings of the Tory Party.
Expectation is growing at Westminster that Mrs May will return to Brussels next week to present the EU27 with a range of alternatives. This will mean the Commons vote pencilled in for next Thursday will simply be another indicative one on possible options.
The second meaningful vote on the Government’s Plan B is now not expected to take place until the end of February; just four weeks before Brexit Day.
However, the problem for the PM next week will be that an amendment to extend the Article 50 process, to avoid a no-deal scenario, seems almost certain to be retabled and Government ministers might be prepared to defy Mrs May to vote for it. This could lead to a raft of Cabinet resignations.
Meanwhile, ahead of today’s Joint Ministerial Committee in Whitehall, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and her Welsh counterpart Mark Drakeford jointly renewed their call for the PM to abandon her red lines and request an immediate extension of the Article 50 process “to put an end to the threat of the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal in only eight weeks’ time”.
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