Theresa May demands EU stop using sound-bites after months of saying 'Brexit means Brexit'

The prime minister's spokesman said the EU should engage more constructively with the negotiations

Theresa May has demanded the EU look “beyond sound-bites” in its approach to Brexit talks, in a move likely irritate officials in Brussels ahead of next month’s European Council summit.

The Prime Minister – who for many months relied on phrases like “Brexit means Brexit” to describe her withdrawal strategy – called on the EU to be more constructive.

It came as Downing Street hit back at what it called “negative anonymous briefings” from Brussels, which saw officials across the Channel launch a devastating attack on the UK’s negotiating positions last week.

Following the briefing in Brussels, Ms May’s spokesman said: “We need to approach these discussions with the interests of our citizens at heart

“That means focussing on holding constructive talks inside the negotiating room. We also need to be constructive outside of the room, which means looking beyond sound-bites and negative anonymous briefings.”

Ms May has faced constant calls since taking office, and from both sides of the Channel, to give more details of her approach to EU withdrawal.

To the frustration of her critics, she has often chosen to rely on sound-bites of her own to describe her strategy, like seeking a “red, white and blue Brexit” or a “deep and special partnership” with Europe, whilst holding back critical detail.

The spokesman went on to say the EU should engage in a “constructive spirit” and argued that while there has been “good progress so far” it is important to remember that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”.

He then said it was important to make more progress towards the “deep and special future partnership” that Ms May has said is in the interests of both the UK and the European Union.

With a crucial summit approaching in June at which the UK was once expecting to reach some sort of agreement on future customs arrangements with Brussels, EU officials vented their frustration last week.

One senior official said the UK still lacked negotiating positions on a wide variety of issues and that in others it was “chasing the fantasy of denying the consequences of Brexit in a given policy area”.

As well as the main issues of customs and the Irish border making little progress, the EU said matters like the European arrest warrant and the Galileo satellite system have also stalled since March.

EU negotiators complain that the British side “do not understand” that the UK will not be able to use the European arrest warrant after Brexit, with Ms May again having pledged to stay in the system just three months ago.