UK leader May hits back on Brexit plan; pound falls
LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May accused the European Union on Friday of creating an “impasse” in divorce negotiations by bluntly rejecting her blueprint for Brexit, sending the value of the pound falling as worries about a chaotic U.K. exit from the EU soared.
With British newspapers declaring that May had been “humiliated” by EU leaders, the prime minister used a televised statement from 10 Downing St. to insist she was prepared to take Britain out of the bloc without a deal if it did not treat the country with more respect.
Declaring that “we are at an impasse,” May said the EU must lay out “what the real issues are and what their alternative is.”
“Throughout this process, I have treated the EU with nothing but respect,” she said. “The U.K. expects the same. A good relationship at the end of this process depends on it.”