Europe has warned that the next phase of Brexit negotiations will be delayed for two months because of the UK’s refusal to engage with Brussels on the so-called ‘Brexit divorce bill’, The Telegraph can reveal.

Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, made the warning in a private meeting with EU ambassadors in Brussels, according to an account of the meeting obtained by The Telegraph.

The EU has said it will not talk about trade or the UK’s future relationship with the EU - tantamount to a suspension in Brexit negotiations - until “sufficient progress” has been made over the questions of protecting citizens’ rights, the Northern Ireland border and the financial settlement.