EU should not be blamed if there is no Brexit deal, Michel Barnier says

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, has accused British politicians of trying to pin the blame for the consequences of a 'no deal' scenario on Brussels.

"To be very frank I do see a blame game starting against the EU in case of a no deal. The EU will not be impressed by a blame game and everyone should understand that," Mr Barnier told reporters at the European Commission, as he warned it was unlikely there would be a deal before November.

Mr Barnier said he had no intention of shifting the EU's position in the negotiations, though Brexit-supporting politicians has claimed his  repeated refusals of Theresa May's proposals are pushing the UK towards a crash-out.

"The principles of the EU in these negotiations are well known and have been consistent for the last two years," he said.

"We can find common ground based on the EU principles and on the other end the choices made by the UK. We are far more advanced in defining that common ground for foreign policy and security than the economic relationship."

Mr Barnier, and his British counterpart Dominic Raab, were providing an update on the negotiations in Brussels.

Last week the UK and EU held "technical talks" on the terms of the UK's departure from the bloc, including how to avoid a hard border in Ireland and the future trading relationship.

Mr Raab hit out at allegations that leaving the EU with no deal could spell disastrous economic consequences for the UK, claiming that "these hair-raising scare stories [of a chaotic Brexit] are far from the truth."

Neither side has been able to reach an agreement on how to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland the Republic of Ireland after Brexit.

As a result, the talks have effectively been in deadlock since a draft agreement was drawn up in December.