MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK Theresa May boasts being a “bloody difficult woman” ahead of Brexit talks

”During the Conservative Party leadership campaign I was described as a bloody difficult woman and I said the next person to find that out will be Juncker.”

UK Prime Minster Theresa May has boasted about being a “bloody difficult woman” amid reports of a clash with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker over Brexit. Mrs. May insisted “a lot” of the leaked account of a difficult Downing Street dinner between the two sides was “Brussels gossip”.

 But she acknowledged the negotiations were going to be tough after a detailed account in the German press of their meeting suggested Mr Juncker left fearing the negotiations would end in failure.

In an interview with the BBC, Mrs. May turned to the description of her coined by former cabinet colleague Ken Clarke. She said: “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.”

Pressed by BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg whether the commission chief had indeed found that out, Mrs May said: “Well these are going to be tough negotiations as we as we go ahead.

“I’m asking the British people to give me a mandate to go into those negotiations. Every vote for me and my team is a vote to strengthen our hand in ensuring that we get the best possible deal for the United Kingdom.”

Asked whether Mr. Juncker had told her at the dinner “Brexit cannot be a success”, Mrs. May said: “I don’t recall the account that has been given of the meeting that took place. I think a lot of this is Brussels gossip.”

She said the UK needed the “right leadership” in the negotiations: “The 27 other EU countries on one side of the table and who is going to be there standing up for the UK? It’s either going to be me or Jeremy Corbyn.”

The Downing Street dinner on April 26 saw Mr. Juncker and the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier dine with Mrs. May and Brexit Secretary David Davis.

A comprehensive leak to German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper – attributed to commission sources – said the EU side concluded Mrs. May was way too optimistic about the prospects for a deal.

As he departed, Mr. Juncker was said to have told her: “I leave Downing St 10 times as skeptical as I was before.”

European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said he would not comment on leaks but pointed out Mr. Juncker had publicly described the dinner as “constructive” while acknowledging difficulties ahead.

But she acknowledged the negotiations were going to be tough after a detailed account in the German press of their meeting suggested Mr. Juncker left fearing the negotiations would end in failure.