'Arrogant' Jean-Claude Juncker faces Brexiteer backlash after telling Brits to 'get their act together’
2 min read
Tory Eurosceptics have reacted with fury after European Commission President Jean Claude-Juncker urged Britain to get its "act together" over Brexit.
The Brussels boss was accused of "shallow arrogance" over his plea for British people to stop blaming the European Union for the current lack of progress on the UK's exit from the bloc.
He told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag: "It is not us who are leaving the UK – it is the UK that is leaving the EU.
"I find it entirely unreasonable for parts of the British public to believe that it is for the EU alone to propose a solution for all future British problems.
"My appeal is this: get your act together and then tell us what it is you want. Our proposed solutions have been on the table for months."
The European Commission President also claimed that the "majority of British MPs deeply distrust both the EU and Mrs May", and hit out at suggestions the EU wanted to keep Britain in the bloc by "all possible means".
But former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith said the former Prime Minister of Luxembourg had "picked on the wrong nation".
He told the Daily Mail: "Juncker has descended yet again into shallow arrogance in lecturing the UK. They're trying to say it's the UK's fault, that they don't know what we want, but of course they know – this is just a stupid game."
Fellow Conservative Brexiteer Andrew Rosindell meanwhile added: "Mr Juncker has severely underestimated the British spirit if he thinks the people of this nation will capitulate to his threats."
The row comes ahead of a crucial New Year Commons vote on Theresa May's Brexit deal.
The vote had been due to take place before Christmas but was pulled at the last minute after Downing Street accepted it was facing a hefty defeat.
In a bid to win over critics of her deal, the Prime Minister has been trying to convince EU leaders to provide fresh legal assurances that the Northern Ireland backstop element will not be allowed to run on indefinitely if it is triggered.
The backstop plan would keep Britain in a customs union with the EU if the two sides cannot agree a long-term way to avoid a hard border in Northern Ireland before the end of 2020.
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