Theresa May has been branded “pathetic” by top Brexit negotiators, a fly-on-the-wall documentary has revealed.
BBC documentary Brexit : Behind Closed Doors reveals how some of the EU’s top negotiators have reacted to various moments in their meetings with the UK.
Among the most damning criticism of the embattled PM comes from European Parliament chief negotiator Guy Verhofstadt’s staff.
Mr Verhofstadt’s chief of staff, Guillaume McLaughlin, doesn’t hold back when it emerges that months of careful negotiations are scuppered because Mrs May can’t win the support of the DUP’s Arlene Foster
He says: “What the f*** is wrong with her. That’s insane. ‘I don’t know, I haven’t spoken to her?’ That’s ridiculous. Pathetic, pathetic.”
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The fly-on-the-wall BBC documentary shows him scream “oh f*** off” at a TV screen showing Mrs May telling the Tory conference she wants a deal.
Another top Verhofstadt aide slams former Brexit Secretary David Davis saying he has his“head in the f***ing clouds” after leaving a meeting with him.
Mr McLaughlin also claims that Mr Davis, who quit as Brexit Secretary in July 2018, “doesn’t give a f***” about the Irish border problem.
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He says: “David Davis explained to us that Ireland is not a problem, they have got lots of control systems, they know everybody who is going in and out across the border, they have automatic… and they will take a loss in the excise duties that they are getting but it doesn’t really matter.
“So basically – ’we don’t really give a f*** what goes through our border, in any case we know who the baddies are, there might be a problem with terrorism, and if there’s a problem with terrorism that might be a problem, but okay.’”
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The two-part series starts tonight and goes behind the scenes on the negotiations from a EU perspective.
Belgian filmmaker Lode Desmet was given exclusive access to Verhofstadt, and his close-knit team, for two years.
Another key moment sees lead EU negotiator Michel Barnier, asking whether he should negotiate with then Brexit Secretary David David or Downing Street adviser Olly Robbins, says his team needs someone “stable, available and reliable” to talk to.
Mr Verhofstadtt replies: “We can’t ask too much of Britain, don’t overdo it.”
Brexit: Behind Closed Doors airs on BBC Four at 9pm Wednesday
