'Despondent' Theresa May 'begged for help' at Brexit dinner with Jean-Claude Juncker, leaked account claims

Theresa May “begged” for help and had “dark rings under her eyes”, according to an account of her dinner with European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker last week.

She seemed “anxious” and “tormented” as well as “despondent and discouraged” at the dinner last Monday, according to German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), which appeared to have received a detailed account.

The Prime Minister appeared to warn that she could be ousted unless given help, raising speculation that she used the possibility of a Boris Johnson leadership as leverage in the talks.

Mrs May’s former aide Nick Timothy claimed Mr Juncker’s powerful chief of staff Martin Selmayr was responsible for the leak. He tweeted: “After constructive Council meeting, Selmayr does this. Reminder that some in Brussels want no deal or a punitive one.”

Mr Selmayr hit back this morning, tweeting to Mr Timothy: “This is false. I know it doesn’t fit your cliché … but @JunckerEU & I have no interest in weakening PM”.

He also tweeted: “I deny that 1/we leaked this; 2/Juncker ever said this; 3/we are punitive on Brexit. It’s an attempt 2 frame EU side & 2 undermine talks.”

The Prime Minister was due to make a Commons statement this afternoon on the outcome of last week’s EU summit. She was expected to welcome the decision by the 27 other leaders to prepare for a possible go-ahead for trade talks in December, subject to Britain increasing its cash offer of a divorce settlement.

The FAZ portrait of a weak Mrs May was partly attributed to what Mr Juncker told colleagues about the dinner, but some descriptions seemed to be the newspaper’s own.

Mr Juncker allegedly said Mrs May looked in need of sleep, and was someone who once laughed but now had to work to avoid losing her temper. “She indicated that back home friend and foe are at her back plotting to bring her down,” said FAZ, adding: “May said she had no room left to manoeuvre. The Europeans have to create it for her.”

After the dinner, a joint statement was released saying they had agreed to accelerate Brexit talks.

Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said the unfavourable description of Mrs May was a negotiating tactic. “It’s what you would expect in a tricky negotiation, that one side would try to undermine the confidence of the other side,” he said.

Earlier this year, Mr Selmayr was accused by No 10 insiders of leaking details of another private dinner held at 10 Downing Street.

Mr Juncker later admitted that had been a “serious mistake”.

Meanwhile Mr Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, said this morning: “The entire Cabinet is united around every dot, comma, syllable of the Florence speech,” referring to Mrs May’s proposal last month for a time-limited transition of around two years after Brexit in which the UK would have similar trade terms to now.