Theresa May issues chilling warning to EU leaders as she says lives are at risk if a Brexit deal is not reached

Theresa May attends an European Union leaders summit in Brussels
REUTERS
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The European Union will be putting lives at risk if its leaders fail to reach a Brexit deal with Britain, Theresa May said in a chilling warning to the bloc.

Mrs May urged leaders to consider Europe’s safety before cutting the UK adrift from its security architecture as she sought to move Brexit talks forward at a summit in Brussels.

The Prime Minister used a dinner with EU leaders to underline Britain's role in keeping Europe safe, sharing information freely to solve serious crimes and prevent militant attacks.

"Our ability to do so is being put at risk," May told other EU leaders, according to a senior UK government official, on Thursday.

Theresa May talks with Denmark's Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen at the summit
REUTERS

"The existing legal frameworks for third countries will not allow us to realise the ambitious future security partnership that I believe is in all our interests.

"That is not what I want and I do not believe it is what you want either."

With only nine months before Britain leaves the EU, Mrs May is under increasing pressure in Brussels to pin down a number of agreements with the bloc.

Earlier, EU leaders were blunt in their assessment of progress so far, and called on Mrs May to soften her “red lines”.

"We did expect that we would make more progress, or any progress, at this summit in June ... There hasn't been," Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told reporters before meeting May discuss the border.

Theresa May (C) attends a meeting during the leaders' summit
AFP/Getty Images

Mrs May has promised to resolve differences among her top team of ministers at a meeting early next month and intends to present a policy document setting out the government's aims for a future partnership after that.

Her cabinet’s indecision has prompted several large companies in Britain to warn the government that a disorderly Brexit could put thousands of jobs at risk,

The EU has repeatedly said time is running out to secure an agreement by October to give countries time to ratify the deal.

Mrs May has so far stuck to what the EU called her "red lines" - to leave the bloc's single market and customs union.

And while security is seen by British officials as one of the country's strongest cards to play in the talks, another of her pledges - to leave the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice - has made continued cooperation more difficult.

The EU says Britain must become a "third country" after Brexit, losing its participation in several of its security data bases which hold intelligence and help track criminals.

But Mrs May said that would mean no longer being able to share information about wanted people or terrorist networks in Europe.

"So when you meet ... tomorrow, I would urge you to consider what is in the best interests of safety of your citizens and mine and give your negotiators a mandate that will allow us to achieve this crucial objective,” she said.

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