Philip Hammond has said European leaders are ”backward-looking” and preoccupied with ”paranoia” about other countries leaving the bloc after Brexit.

The Chancellor said EU must let go of ideas of punishing Britain for voting to leave the bloc and stop “constantly threatening members” who want to walk away.

His comments came during a three-day trip to Germany aimed at drumming up trade deals after Brexit, where Mr Hammond told EU leaders that they should be clear on the future relationship they want with the UK - as “it takes two to tango”.

He also made a joint pitch to business leaders with Brexit Secretary David Davis, where they called for a bespoke post-Brexit trade deal with the EU which would be the “most ambitious in the world”.

In an interview with the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, Mr Hammond said: “We hear a willingness and enthusiasm in the USA and from many other countries around the world to make new trade deals with us. But we don’t hear that from Europe.

“We hear from Europe only backward-looking stuff. ’Are you sure you want to leave?’ Or ‘It’s a bad decision to leave.’ Or ‘You must be punished for deciding to leave.’

“Well, we are leaving and we want to retain the closest possible partnership with the European Union. But we can only have that if the European Union also wants it.”

Asked if a soft Brexit would encourage other countries to leave, the Chancellor said: “I can understand that paranoia. But imagine you are running a successful, thriving club. If one member leaves, you don’t immediately panic that all the other members might leave, but are confident they will want to remain.

“You cannot really run a club if you are constantly threatening members who decide to leave. You should rather redouble your efforts to remain attractive for new and existing members.”

Brexit: the deciders Show all 8 1 /8 Brexit: the deciders Brexit: the deciders European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier Getty Brexit: the deciders French President Emmanuel Macron Getty Brexit: the deciders German Chancellor Angela Merkel Reuters Brexit: the deciders Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker EPA Brexit: the deciders The European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt Getty Brexit: the deciders Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May Getty Images Brexit: the deciders Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond PA Brexit: the deciders After the first and second appointed Brexit secretaries resigned (David Davis and Dominic Raab respectively), Stephen Barclay is currently heading up the position PA