Theresa, Please Play Hard Ball!

THERESA May must be ready to walk out of the forthcoming Brexit negotiations without a deal, the most senior Tory in the European Parliament warned tonight. Syed Kamall, leader of the Conservative MEPs, urged the Prime Minister to be ready to face down demands from European leaders for an EU exit deal that would punish the UK for voting to leave the bloc. And he predicted that Mrs May will prove a “tough and shrewd negotiator” when the departure talks start this spring. He made his intervention as Downing Street confirmed that the Prime Minister will deliver a keynote speech on her vision for Brexit next week. Mrs May is expected to make clear that regaining full control of immigration will be her top priority for Britain’s future outside the EU. She is also understood to be poised to say that she is ready to pull the country out of the EU’s single market unless European leaders accept that Britain can curb free movement of EU citizens. Ukip Daily.