Theresa May has accused the European Union of seeking to influence the result of the General Election in an unprecedented attack.

The Prime Minister has claimed that the European Commission's position had hardened over the last few weeks and that officials do not want Britain to "prosper."

She also suggested that Britain's negotiating position has been misrepresented in the European press. </s> British Prime Minister Theresa May overnight accused European Union officials of trying to influence the UK elections, ratcheting up tensions with Brussels over her country's departure from the bloc.

Just hours after the EU unveiled its plan for Brexit talks, which delays discussion on issues like trade that are so dear to Britain, Mrs May said that "the European Commission's negotiating stance has hardened. Threats against Britain have been issued by European politicians and officials."

"All of these acts have been deliberately timed to affect the result of the general election that will take place on 8 June," she told reporters outside 10 Downing Street, in a speech aimed at rallying support for her Conservative Party ahead of next month's polls.

Mrs May's comments follow leaked comments in the British and European press suggesting the EU thinks Britain is not facing reality about the conditions of its EU exit and the complexity of the negotiations ahead.

"The events of the last few days have shown that, whatever our wishes, and however reasonable the positions of Europe's other leaders, there are some in Brussels who do not want these talks to succeed," she said.

The head of the EU's executive Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, expressed regret that details of his private dinner with Mrs May last week had made the news.

A German news report said that Mr Juncker left the meeting saying he was "10 times more skeptical than I was before" that negotiations will succeed. </s> 'EU trying to interfere in UK election'

UK Prime Minister Theresa May says EU and European press have been trying to affect the result of the UK general election with Brexit "threats" and "misrepresentation".

UK Prime Minister Theresa May says the EU and European press have been trying to affect the result of the UK general election with Brexit "threats" and "misrepresentation". </s> (BRUSSELS) — Prime Minister Theresa May has hit back at reports that European Union officials consider Britain ill-prepared for Brexit talks, accusing EU officials of trying to influence the outcome of Britain's national election.

May says "there are some in Brussels who do not want these talks to succeed, who do not want Britain to prosper."

Speaking after meeting Queen Elizabeth II to officially start the election campaign, May said the EU's negotiating stance had hardened and some European officials had made "threats" against Britain.

She said these were "deliberately timed to affect the result of the general election that will take place on June 8." </s> Theresa May has put the growing feud between Downing Street and European leaders at the heart of the general election by accusing “Brussels bureaucrats” of trying to interfere in the campaign.

The Prime Minister was accused of “poisoning the well” of Brexit talks after getting the election formally under way with a remarkable attack on the EU outside Number 10.

Prime Minister Theresa May. Picture: Getty Images

In some of the most hostile rhetoric on Europe by a sitting UK prime minister, Mrs May suggested unnamed EU figures were trying to sabotage Brexit by misrepresenting Britain’s position in damaging leaks to European media.

Critics claimed the Prime Minister had “gone full Donald Trump” and was feeding the row to win votes at the general election on 8 June.

The remarks follow a turbulent four days in which leaks about a meeting with EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker put Downing Street on the defensive over its Brexit strategy.

Mrs May initially dismissed as “Brussels gossip” reports that Mr Juncker was increasingly pessimistic about reaching a Brexit agreement.

Tensions were raised further with reports yesterday that the “divorce settlement” sought by the EU had almost doubled to €100 billion (£85bn), with the EU chief negotiator warning of “explosive” consequences if the UK tried to avoid “clearing its accounts”.

At a campaign event yesterday morning, Brexit Secretary David Davis said the UK would not be “negotiating with a megaphone”.

But within hours, following a meeting with the Queen at Buckingham Palace to put the official seal on the dissolution of parliament, Mrs May accused the EU of trying to crash Brexit negotiations and interfere in the UK general election.

She said: “In the last few days, we have seen just how tough these talks are likely to be.

“Britain’s negotiating position in Europe has been misrepresented in the continental press. The European Commission’s negotiating stance has hardened. Threats against Britain have been issued by European politicians and officials.

“All of these acts have been deliberately timed to affect the result of the general election.”

The Prime Minister said she had made clear that “Britain means no harm to our friends and allies on the continent” despite reaffirming her belief that “no deal is better for Britain than a bad deal”.

She added: “But the events of the last few days have shown that – however reasonable the positions of Europe’s other leaders – there are some in Brussels who do not want these talks to succeed. Who do not want Britain to prosper.”

The remarks also represented a shift in tone on the risks involved in Brexit, with the Prime Minister acknowledging that “the consequences will be serious” if the UK fails to secure the right exit terms from the EU.

She said prosperity and security of future generations would be damaged “if we let the bureaucrats of Brussels run over us”, and claimed only she could provide the leadership needed to get the right deal.

At a press conference in Brussels, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said it was an “illusion” to think Brexit would be quick or painless.

READ MORE: Theresa May’s Brexit dinner leak: what does it tell us?

Setting out the EU Commission’s negotiating guidelines for the first phase of talks, Mr Barnier refused to confirm the size of payment he was seeking, and insisted the UK was not being punished.

But he said: “Some have created the illusion that Brexit would have no material impact or that negotiations can be concluded quickly and painlessly. This is not the case.”

Mr Davis insisted that “we will not be paying €100bn” and dismissed as “laughable” reports that Mrs May would be barred from negotiating with other European heads of government and would instead have to go through Mr Barnier.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon accused the Prime Minister of “poisoning the well” of Brexit talks and trying to turn the EU into a “bogeyman” in order to win votes.

“It is vital for jobs and living standards that the UK gets the best possible deal from Brexit. But for all the bravado, the fact is that the UK government’s leverage in these negotiations is extremely limited.

“So for Theresa May, driven by entirely narrow, partisan motives, to deliberately seek to poison the well will make the negotiating task ahead even harder.

“This is an irresponsible, gratuitous attack on our European neighbours, which is aimed at diverting attention from the Tories’ dismal record on health, the economy, austerity and welfare by painting the EU as a bogeyman.

“Insulting our neighbours simply makes the Brexit mountain much harder to climb, but unfortunately it is par for the course from Theresa May.”

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the Prime Minister was “playing party games with Brexit” to boost the Tories in next month’s election.

He said: “By winding up the public confrontation with Brussels, the Prime Minister wants to wrap the Conservative party in the Union Jack and distract attention from her government’s economic failure and rundown of our public services.”

Scottish Labour Europe spokesperson Lewis Macdonald MSP said: “Theresa May has gone full Donald Trump with this bizarre intervention. This Tory government is clearly woefully under-prepared for the difficult and complicated negotiations ahead – and insulting Europe’s political leaders is unlikely to make them any more amenable to giving the UK a good deal.”

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: “We need to judge the Prime Minister on her record and a matter of days after her personal intervention the Brexit bill rocketed from €50bn to €100bn. She is the person behind the ‘go home’ vans, blocking child refugees and the rape clause. Her vision of the world is cold and uncaring.”

READ MORE: Reject SNP ‘separatists’ and vote Tory, urges Theresa May </s> Theresa May accuses EU of trying to affect UK election

Theresa May has accused European politicians of making “threats” against Britain to try to influence the general election result.

The PM launched a stinging attack on the “bureaucrats of Brussels” in a speech outside 10 Downing Street after meeting the Queen.

She said some in Brussels wanted Brexit talks to fail.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said she was “playing party games with Brexit” to try to win the general election.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it was “irresponsible” of her to “poison” the atmosphere with the EU.

A senior EU source told the BBC the PM’s suggestion that officials were trying to affect the election result was “pure fantasy”.

Parliament was dissolved at midnight, meaning the election is formally under way, and the PM made her speech after visiting the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

She said events of the past few days had shown “just how tough” Brexit talks are likely to be.

“Britain’s negotiating position in Europe has been misrepresented in the continental press,” she said, in a reference to a German newspaper’s account of her dinner with the EU Commission chief.

“The European Commission’s negotiating stance has hardened. Threats against Britain have been issued by European politicians and officials.

“All of these acts have been deliberately timed to affect the result of the general election that will take place on 8 June.”

Mrs May said she wanted to reach a Brexit deal, and for the EU to succeed: “But the events of the last few days have shown that – whatever our wishes, and however reasonable the positions of Europe’s other leaders – there are some in Brussels who do not want these talks to succeed.”

The PM also warned of “serious” consequences if the Brexit talks failed, which would be felt by “ordinary, working people across the country”.

“If we don’t get the negotiation right, your economic security and prosperity will be put at risk and the opportunities you seek for your families will simply not happen.

“If we do not stand up and get this negotiation right we risk the secure and well-paid jobs we want for our children and our children’s children too.

“If we don’t get the negotiation right, if we let the bureaucrats of Brussels run over us, we will lose the chance to build a fairer society with real opportunity for all.”

She was criticised by Ms Sturgeon, who tweeted: “UK needs best possible Brexit deal and has limited leverage, so for PM to poison atmosphere for partisan reasons is deeply irresponsible…. Having called election for reasons of party not national interest, PM now seems intent on fighting campaign in same way.”

Mr Corbyn added: “By winding up the public confrontation with Brussels, the prime minister wants to wrap the Conservative party in the union jack and distract attention from her government’s economic failure and rundown of our public services.

“But Brexit is too important to be used as a political game in this election.”

Lib Dem Nick Clegg attacked her “desperate, bizarre statement”, and UKIP’s Patrick O’Flynn said millions of his party’s voters remained worried the UK would leave the EU “with the worst possible terms”.

Mrs May’s statement came during a day in which the UK’s Brexit secretary and the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier had appeared at odds over the size of the “Brexit bill” the UK would owe when it left the European Union.

The Financial Times claimed the likely bill had risen sharply from 60bn to 100bn euros, basing its calculations on new data from across Europe.

Mr Barnier said there was no agreed figure but the UK and EU had entered into “mutual commitments” which must be honoured.

Mr Davis said the UK would pay what was legally due, in line with its rights and obligations, but “not just what the EU wants”.

On Tuesday, Mrs May told the BBC she would be a “bloody difficult woman” towards Mr Juncker during Brexit talks.

Asked about her comment, Mr Juncker’s chief of staff Martin Selmayr said: “President Juncker said today that she is an impressive woman and that she is a very impressive negotiator.”

He added: “Brexit will never become a success, of course, because it is a sad and sorry event. But as I have set out, it can be managed in a professional and pragmatic way.”

The dissolution of Parliament means there are no MPs – only candidates – until polling day.

However, government ministers retain their roles and continue their work.

MPs are allowed access to Parliament for just a few days in order to remove papers from their offices, but facilities provided by the House of Commons are no longer available to them. It was the shortest Parliament since 1974. </s> Theresa May has accused European politicians and officials of seeking to influence the result of the UK's General Election as the war of words over Brexit intensified.

The Prime Minister used a Downing Street statement to claim that the UK's position had been misrepresented and the European Commission's position had hardened.

It follows reports that talks with EU President Jean-Claude Juncker ended in disaster.

A German newspaper said the pair clashed over Mrs May's desire to make Brexit "a success" and whether agreement could be reached about rights of UK and EU nationals, when they had dinner in Downing Street last week.

Mrs May said: " Whoever wins on 8 June will face one overriding task: to get the best possible deal for this United Kingdom from Brexit.

"And in the last few days, we have seen just how tough these talks are likely to be.

"Britain’s negotiating position in Europe has been misrepresented in the continental press.

"Threats against Britain have been issued by European politicians and officials.

"All of these acts have been deliberately timed to affect the result of the general election that will take place on 8 June."

And she said some EU leaders wanted the UK's negotiations over Brexit to fail.

"We want a deal. We want a deep and special partnership with the European Union. And we want the EU to succeed.

"But the events of the last few days have shown that - whatever our wishes, and however reasonable the positions of Europe’s other leaders - there are some in Brussels who do not want these talks to succeed.

"Who do not want Britain to prosper."

Theresa May said this showed why the UK needed her to carry on as a "strong" Prime Minister rather than electing Jeremy Corbyn. </s> British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday accused European Union officials of trying to influence the U.K. elections, ratcheting up tensions with Brussels over her country’s departure from the bloc.

Just hours after the EU unveiled its plan for Brexit talks, which delays discussion on issues like trade that are so dear to Britain, May said that “the European Commission’s negotiating stance has hardened. Threats against Britain have been issued by European politicians and officials.”

“All of these acts have been deliberately timed to affect the result of the general election that will take place on 8 June,” she told reporters outside 10 Downing Street, in a speech aimed at rallying support for her Conservative Party ahead of next month’s polls.

May’s comments follow leaked comments in the British and European press suggesting the EU thinks Britain is not facing reality about the conditions of its EU exit and the complexity of the negotiations ahead.

“The events of the last few days have shown that — whatever our wishes, and however reasonable the positions of Europe’s other leaders — there are some in Brussels who do not want these talks to succeed,” she said.

The head of the EU’s executive Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, expressed regret that details of his private dinner with May last week had made the news.

A German news report said that Juncker left the meeting saying he was “10 times more skeptical than I was before” that negotiations will succeed. May dismissed the report as “Brussels gossip.”

May also vowed Tuesday to be a “bloody difficult woman” in Brexit talks.

Juncker said: “I have noted that she is a tough lady.”

Earlier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier insisted that Britain’s accounts must be settled before any talks on its future trade relationship with the EU can take place, as he warned that time is running out to seal a deal by 2019.

Unveiling the Commission’s negotiating mandate for Britain’s departure, Barnier said he was not hostile to Britain and the bloc did not want to punish it for leaving — but “we have to settle the account, not more not less.”

The amount London owes the EU has become one of the most contentious subjects in the Brexit process, with some reports estimating it could climb to as much as 100 billion euros ($109 billion) — a figure that Britain has flatly rejected paying.

U.K. Brexit Secretary David Davis told ITV that Britain “will meet our international obligations,” but added: “We will not be paying 100 billion.”

Davis also dismissed reports the EU could bar May from Brexit discussions at future heads of state and government meetings.

This is the first time a member has ever left the EU, so these negotiations are taking the Europeans into uncharted waters. The process is unprecedented and complicated, and combined with fresh delays caused by the snap elections in Britain, is raising tensions between London and the 27 nations that will remain in the EU.

Barnier did not specify how much Britain should pay, but his negotiating mandate said it should cover budget payments, the cost of ending Britain’s membership of any EU institution including banks, and the bill for relocating any EU agencies on its territory. London must also pay in euros rather than pounds, meaning that it should bear the currency exchange costs.

The European Parliament’s Brexit point man, Guy Verhofstadt, also declined to go into numbers. He said the parties must first agree on the “accounting principles” from which the bill will be determined.

“We cannot ask to the 27 remaining members to pay the bill for the departure of a country,” he said. As in any divorce, he added, “you can’t just say ‘My partner will take all the burden.“’

Money aside, the top priority of the talks is how to handle the rights of some 3 million citizens from the 27 nations living in Britain and up to 2 million Britons residing on the continent. All face massive uncertainty on such issues as health benefits, pensions, taxes, employment and education.

Another key aim is to keep people and goods moving smoothly across the border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K., and EU member Ireland.

Under the negotiating mandate, EU states would have to approve progress on these and other immediate exit issues before Barnier can start negotiating the outline of the bloc’s future relations with Britain after it leaves.

Some British politicians, including May, have said walking away would be better than a bad deal, and Barnier conceded that the EU has planned for such a contingency.

“We are prepared for all options,” he said. “But the option I am working on is getting an agreement.” </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption May on being "bloody difficult" and "Brussels gossip"

Theresa May says she will be a "bloody difficult woman" towards European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker during Brexit talks.

The PM revived a line used during her Tory leadership campaign to respond to claims the two clashed over dinner.

She also declined to commit to settling the issue of expats' rights by June.

EU sources claim UK misunderstanding of the talks process, and ignorance about how Brussels works, could lead to no deal being agreed on the UK's exit.

According to German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine, the prime minister and Mr Juncker clashed last Wednesday at Downing Street over Mrs May's desire to make Brexit "a success" and whether the issue of protecting the rights of expat UK and EU nationals could be agreed as early as June.

Speaking to BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg, Mrs May said there were a lot of similarities and common ground in the two sides' positions.

She added: "But look, I think what we've seen recently is that at times these negotiations are going to be tough.

"During the Conservative Party leadership campaign I was described by one of my colleagues as a bloody difficult woman. And I said at the time the next person to find that out will be Jean-Claude Juncker."

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption In full: Theresa May speaks to the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg

The "bloody difficult" quote came from former Conservative chancellor Ken Clarke, who was recorded discussing her after a TV interview last year.

Asked about the German newspaper report, Mrs May said: "I don't recall the account that has been given of the meeting that took place, I think that a lot of this is Brussels gossip."

But she said that the talks would be tough and would involve either her or Jeremy Corbyn lining up for the UK against the other 27 EU leaders.

Analysis by BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg

Theresa May's comment is revealing about her strength, and also her weakness. No political leader wants to be seen to be pushed around. When the UK talked tough as a member of the EU the others had no choice but to listen.

But now the UK is on the way out, the incentives for the others to pay attention - let alone do our bidding - is very different.

Refusing to be pushed around is one thing, refusing to show any sign of compromise or listen quite another.

Read more from Laura

Pressed on whether she did believe the issue of the rights of EU nationals in the UK - and Britons abroad - could be settled in June, she said: "I've always said that I want this to be an issue that we address at an early stage."

"I've always said that there are complexities to this issue and lots of details that will need to be agreed. What people want to know is to have some reassurance about their future. I believe we can give that at an early stage. I've got the will to do this," she added.

She also said she would have "no intention of doing anything other" than serving a full term until 2022 if she wins the 8 June general election.

Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption Brussels and Downing Street sources gave contrasting accounts of Jean-Claude Juncker's meeting with Theresa May

Opposition parties have accused the Tories of pursuing a "hard Brexit" strategy, with the PM insisting no deal is better than a bad one and planning to withdraw the UK from the EU single market.

The first edition of the London Evening Standard published under the editorship of ex-chancellor George Osborne was headlined "Brussels twists knife on Brexit", with an editorial warning the PM against seeking a "blank cheque" from the EU.

Launching his party's Brexit strategy, ex-Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said Mrs May had "chosen to pursue the most extreme and damaging form" of EU departure.

He said his party would offer another EU referendum in which it would campaign to Remain.

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Conservative politician Theresa May accuses European Union officials of trying to influence the upcoming elections.