The Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition have both shown they are “unfit” to lead Britain outside of the bloc, pro-EU politician Matteo Renzi. Mr Renzi, who led Italy between 2014 and 2016, launched a blistering attack against the “political leadership” in the UK as the country is in the midst of political chaos. Mr Renzi, who has also been the leader of centre-left Democratic Party (PD) told CNBC: “I consider Theresa May a leader who I worked with her for some months after the resignation of David Cameron and before my resignation, but I think her responsibilities are clear in this process, of course it’s not easy decision, it’s not an easy process to exit from EU, but the responsibilities of British politicians are big.
“Please, let me be very frank, I grew up with a great idea about British politicians. I grew up with the model of Tony Blair and the third way.
“I grew up with the unbelievable icon of Winston Churchill, one of the most important politicians around the world in the last three centuries.
“And now I see political leadership in UK not so great, not so high level.
“And please, this is true for Theresa May, but this is true also for the leader of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn.
READ MORE: ‘GOD HELP US!’ Despair and fury as May’s Brexit DESTROYED by MPs – PM vows to FIGHT ON
Theresa May’s Cabinet must ’embrace a no deal Brexit’ (Image: GETTY/EPA)
“The inability to solve the problem of Brexit, it’s a very bad page in the history of the UK, they are unfit.
“If you have three years to prepare the Brexit, and you arrive at three days from the date without a solution, you can blame every type of fake news, but you are responsible, and this is true to Theresa and this is true for Jeremy.”
This criticism comes as Mrs May’s withdrawal agreement failed for the third time to find a majority in Parliament on Friday.
The outcome of the vote was widely mocked across Europe and the world by politicians and journalists.
Martin Selmayr, the European Commission’s secretary-general and Jean-Claude Juncker’s right-hand man, wrote on Twitter minutes after Mrs May was defeated by 58 MPs: “12 April is now the new 29 March #Brexit”.
Manfred Weber, leader of the EPP tipped to replace Mr Juncker after his mandate ends, said rejecting the deal represented “a failure of the political class in Great Britain – there’s no other way to describe it.”
And Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics branded the outcome of the vote “very unfortunate!”, adding: “Dear Britain, please tell us what you really want!”
German national newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung branded “tactical stupidity” the latest Brexit development.
Commentator Stefan Kornelius wrote: “Hubris and dilettantism have led Britain, led by the Tory party, ever deeper into ruin.
“The Brexit Day passed, and with it the hope for a regular exit from the EU.
“In the end, it will be the 27 members who have to build Britain as neighbour. Pragmatism now helps.”
Similarly, France’s daily Le Monde mocked Mrs May’s repeated attempts to pass her deal through Parliament, writing: “Theresa May has rolled the dice again. And, again, she lost”.
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Matteo Renzi branded Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn ‘unfit’ (Image: GETTY)
11.40am update: MPs risks ‘losing Brexit’ one Cabinet minister warns
An un-named Cabinet minister said there are still hopes for Britain to leave with Mrs May’s deal if it is put once again to a vote next week.
One Cabinet minister told the Daily Telegraph: “It was so much closer today – MPs are finally figuring out that Brexit is in danger of being lost.
“After all these years and all these months of debate a lot of MPs have still not focused on what this might mean. The votes next week might finally make them realise they are in danger of losing Brexit.”
11.20am update: Brexit deadlock to be broken by Government of national unity – Nicky Morgan
Nicky Morgan called for a Government of national unity as a possible solution to end the Brexit deadlock following Friday’s third rejection of Theresa May‘s Brexit deal.
The former cabinet minister told the Today Programme: “It may well be that if you end up with a cross-party approach to finding a majority in the House of Commons, it might be that you need a cross-party approach to implementing it.
“There have been periods in our history when we have had national unity governments or a coalition for a very specific issue.”
10.30am update: Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn are ‘UNFIT’ and unable to deliver Brexit – former Italy’s prime minister
Matteo Renzi, who has been Italy’s prime minister between 2014 and 2016, attacked Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn’s handling of Brexit.
He told CNBC: “I consider Theresa May a leader who I worked with her for some months after the resignation of David Cameron and before my resignation, but I think her responsibilities are clear in this process, of course it’s not easy decision, it’s not an easy process to exit from EU, but the responsibilities of British politicians are big.
“Please, let me be very frank, I grew up with a great idea about British politicians. I grew up with the model of Tony Blair and the third way.
“I grew up with the unbelievable icon of Winston Churchill, one of the most important politician around the world in the last three centuries.
“And now I see political leadership in UK not so great, not so high level.
“And please, this is true for Theresa May, but this is true also for the leader of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn.
“The inability to solve the problem of Brexit, it’s a very bad page in the history of the UK, they are unfit.
“If you have three years to prepare the Brexit, and you arrive at three days from the date without a solution, you can blame every type of fake news, but you are responsible, and this is true to Theresa and this is true for Jeremy.”
Theresa May’s deal was defeated on Friday (Image: GETTY)
10.20am update: The Government is against a customs union membership, says Tory Party chairman
Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis said the Government is still opposed to a Brexit deal including a customs union membership, despite Remainers within Cabinet are believed to be pushing for it.
He told BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “There would be a huge number of people around the country who would understandably take the view that doesn’t respect the vote of 2016 and it goes against our party’s manifesto. So the customs union is a difficult process.
“The Government’s position is very clear. We do not support these options.
“The Government’s position is we believe the best way to respect that referendum is to deliver a deal.”
Border communities against Brexit has organised a series of anti-Brexit protest today (Image: GETTY)
10.05am update: Anti-Brexit protests planned alongside the Irish border today
A series of anti-Brexit protests will be held today along the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Border Communities Against Brexit, a grassroots organisation representing people living near the border concerned about the impact Brexit will have on their lives, has organised a series of protests amid fears Britain will leave the EU without a deal.
This would immediately create a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Declan Fearon, spokesman for the organisation, said: “While politicians and journalists speculate about an extension of the withdrawal date, the deep concerns and potential impact of Brexit on Irish border communities are being ignored.”
