Tusk accuses British MPs of having shown disrespect towards PM May

Donald Tusk has accused MPs of showing a lack of respect for the British prime minister as the EU turned its fire on the Commons over its failure to back the Brexit deal.

As he closed a summit in Brussels, the European council president took aim at treatment meted out to Theresa May, who faced a challenge to her leadership on the eve of the leaders’ meeting.

“We have treated Prime Minister May with the greatest respect, all of us, and we really appreciate the efforts by the prime minister to ratify our common agreement,” Tusk said. “My impression is that in fact we have treated prime minister May with a much greater empathy and respect than some MPs, for sure.”

Earlier in the day, May had confronted the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, accusing him of calling her “nebulous” in a press conference.

Juncker said the row had been a misunderstanding, adding that he had been describing the “overall state of the debate in Britain”.

“I was following the debate in the house and I can’t see where the British parliament is heading at and that’s why I was saying it’s nebulous,” he said.

Tusk said he would not negotiate with May over a legal guarantee, but that he would be available to her over the Christmas period. “I have no mandate to organise any further negotiations”, he said.

“We have to exclude any kind of reopening our negotiations on the withdrawal agreement. But of course we will stay here in Brussels, and I am always at prime minister Theresa May’s disposal.”