Farage meets Barnier: Brexit talks will continue to be 'difficult'

Nigel Farage has warned that the UK still faces a tough road ahead in Brexit talks, following a meeting with the EU's chief negotiator.

Mr Farage, a UKIP MEP, had offered the public the chance to suggest questions to be asked of Michel Barnier when the two met in Brussels earlier.

The questions were:

:: Does Michel Barnier understand why Britain voted for Brexit?

:: What happens to the EU's economy if there's no trade deal with Britain?

:: How does Michel Barnier view mass immigration into the EU coming across the Mediterranean and elsewhere?

After his meeting, Mr Farage told Sky News that the most "illuminating" question had been the first, saying: "(Mr Barnier) rather takes the view... it was because people had been promised a lot of money for the health service.

"What he really didn't understand at all was that open door immigration within the EU had been an absolute key driver of this.

"The most disappointing thing is that it's pretty clear in the talks that have happened so far that immigration hasn't even been discussed. We haven't even begun to talk about how we're going to put some proper controls in place."

Regarding the possibility of a trade deal, he added: "It's easier for everybody if we have a good trade arrangement with the EU but it's pointless and fruitless to spend years pursuing something that I'm not sure he even wants to give us.

"The British Government has made some huge concessions financially and in terms of the role of the European Court of Justice.

"We've given an awful lot away already...and now it's time for the European Union to give a bit back on services and financial services.

"And I'm not sure, looking at his body language today, he wants to give too much on that, so it's going to be a little bit difficult."

Speaking before the meeting in a video posted on his Twitter page, the former UKIP leader said: "A procession of people have been to see Monsieur Barnier the EU chief negotiator: Jeremy Corbyn and then of course the re-moaners - Lord Adonis, Ken Clarke and of course Sir Nick Clegg... and I thought: 'Who is in there representing the views of the 17.4 million? Nobody'."

James McGrory, executive director of anti-Brexit group Open Britain, said: "Sending Nigel Farage to Brussels to sort out Brexit is like sending an arsonist to put out a house fire."

However, former prime minister Tony Blair told Sky News: "People like Nigel Farage are entitled to say what they think."

Unsurprisingly, some of the suggested questions were less serious.

Among them was the question "could you ask him when the £350m a week for the NHS will start coming in?" - a reference to one of the key parts of the Leave campaign.

Another suggestion was "how do we avoid paying Farage his pension?"