The President of the EU has said that Brexit has nothing to do with the failings of Brussels – as he warned there is no alternative to Theresa May’s deal.
Jean-Claude Juncker blamed the vote to leave the bloc on British politicians moaning about the EU over many years.
It comes after Mrs May got her divorce deal signed off by the EU at a milestone summit in Brussels at the weekend, but now faces the mammoth task of getting it passed by MPs.
She is gathering her Cabinet for crisis talks in No10 today as she kicks off a fortnight-long PR blitz as she desperately tries to peel off opponents.
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme, he was quizzed about his previous comments that Brexit process ‘felt like a failure’.
Mr Juncker said: ‘Everybody is losing.’
Pressed on whether it was a failure by the EU, he said: ‘Is it a failure on the British behalf that you are telling people year after year, month after month, day after day, that the membership of Britain in the European Union is a bad thing for the British citizens?
‘I don’t think that the European Union is guilty for the result, it’s the responsibility of Britain. Only of Britain, of nobody else.’
Jean-Claude Juncker (pictured with Theresa May at the EU summit in Brussels on Saturday) blamed the vote to leave the bloc on British politicians moaning about the EU over many years
The Brexit vote came after many years of rising concerns that EU rules allowing free movement of people had led to uncontrolled and high levels of immigration.
While many Britons were alarmed that EU judges sitting in Luxembourg could tell the UK Government and public how to act.
Mr Juncker also said there is no alternative to the PM’s deal – warning that if MPs vote it down then Britain will crash out of the bloc.
Mrs May is facing massive opposition to her deal, with 91 Tory MPs so far saying they will not vote it, while Labour, the SNP and DUP have all vowed to block it.
Mr Juncker said: ‘This is the only deal possible. So, if the House (of Commons) says no, we would have no deal.’
He added: ‘It’s not the intention of the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, nor of the Parliament, to go for a second referendum. This is the deal.’
Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom (pictured left) and Aid Secretary Penny Mordaunt (right) are among those on ‘resignation watch’ after failing to back Mrs May’s deal publicly
Asked if the Brexit negotiation was a ‘punishment process’ for the UK, Mr Juncker said: ‘I don’t understand why the British people, and I like the British people for so many including historical reasons, why they are feeling that they are humiliated.
‘I don’t see that because numerous points of view of the British have been taken into this deal. So, this is not a humiliation for Britain.’
Facing overwhelming opposition to her deal in Parliament, the PM is gearing up to go on a PR blitz to try to win support before it is voted on in a fortnight’s time.
She will be travelling the country to deliver a series of Brexit speeches proclaiming the benefits of her deal, which she says ends free movement while protecting jobs.
And she is contemplating going head to head with Jeremy Corbyn in a live TV Brexit debate.
But the odds are stacked against her, and unless there is a massive tide change in opinion her deal looks set to be voted down when it comes to Parliament.
And two of her Cabinet ministers – Brexit backers Penny Mordaunt and Andrea Leadsom – are both on resignation watch.
If the PM’s Brexit deal is voted down next month, then Theresa May could be ousted, try again in the new year, or could shift her position on Brexit altogether