Britain’s approach to Brexit looks so chaotic that some EU countries think it must be part of a cunning plan to trick them into thinking Theresa May’s government is more shambolic than it actually is, it has been claimed.

Some EU diplomats now allegedly think the Cabinet rifts, contradictions and confusion are too farcical to be true and must be part of an elaborate bluff, a cunning plan to pretend the UK has no plan.

One trade attaché was reported as saying: “I think it’s tactics: they are playing for time on purpose under the pretext of chaos in London.

“In September they’re going to swamp us with [position] papers on the fault lines — exactly the issues where they know we [the other EU member countries] are divided.”

Another attaché, from a southern European country, appeared unable to believe that a country like Britain could really be so disorganised.

“Do they have a strategy?” the attaché told Politico, “Or are they playing a bluff with the European Union? … It could be a strategy because the British are always so organised.”

The suspicion that Britain couldn’t really be as shambolic as some recent reports might suggest was echoed by Joseph Muscat, the prime minister of Malta, the country which until last month held the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the EU. He told the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant: “I have lived in Britain, I know the British mentality.

“People who say the Brits don’t know what they are doing are wrong. A non-prepared British government official simply doesn’t exist. The problem isn’t that London is prepared badly, but that the EU is prepared extremely well.”

Other EU diplomats dismissed the idea of a cunning British bluff, with one suggesting that if the apparent chaos really was a ruse to lull everyone else into a false sense of security, it was so “extremely sophisticated” it had fooled even UK negotiators.

Boris Johnson didn't know about the major report into impact of Brexit

This official, who has reportedly been involved in Brexit talks, did however also add: “The only ones who know the truth are the Brits themselves. Are they ready or are they trying to dance some very strange ballet that we don’t fully get?”

In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain, French Michel Barnier listens at the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty Images In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, delivers his speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg EPA In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt, President of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), addresses the European Parliament during a debate on Brexit priorities and the upcomming talks on the UK's withdrawal from the EU Reuters In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Michel Barnier, European Chief Negotiator for Brexit reacts during a meeting at the European Parliament in Strasbourg EPA In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Member of the European Parliament and former leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) Nigel Farage wears socks with Union Jack flag at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty Images In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Nigel Farage, United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) member and MEP, addresses the European Parliament during a debate on Brexit priorities and the upcoming talks on the UK's withdrawal from the EU Reuters In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain, French Michel Barnier gestures during speeches at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions The President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker (L) speaks with European commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain, French Michel Barnier at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt, President of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), addresses the European Parliament during a debate on Brexit priorities and the upcomming talks on the UK's withdrawal from the EU Reuters In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Member of the European Parliament and former leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) Nigel Farage gestures during speeches at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on April 5, 2017. The European Parliament will on April 5 lay down its "red lines" for negotiations over a Brexit deal, on which the assembly will have the final say in two years' time. / AFP PHOTO / Sebastien BozonSEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP/Getty Images Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivers a speech during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions The European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France Getty Images

Among incidents that may have suggested Britain wasn’t fully prepared for Brexit was David Davis’ appearance in Brussels for talks last month, where he sat without any notes, grinning opposite European Commission negotiators armed with thick bundles of briefing papers.

UK officials insisted it had always been the plan for Mr Davis, the Brexit Secretary, to open the talks, engage in a photo opportunity, and then return to London, leaving his aides to thrash out details with their EU counterparts.

After days of talks, UK negotiators insisted they had shown they were not ill-prepared, while some EU officials reportedly voiced continued concern that the British remained short on detail.

Apparent cabinet in-fighting over Brexit terms has also led Theresa May’s official spokesman to issue a statement that seemed to contradict Chancellor Philip Hammond, who had suggested there would be a transition strategy of retaining free movement of labour until 2022.

There were reports that neither the enthusiastically pro-Brexit International Trade Secretary Liam Fox nor Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had been pre-briefed about Mr Hammond’s comments.

In April, what the UK Government described as a “useful working dinner” for Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker was reported to have left the European Commission President with the impression the Prime Minister was poorly briefed and “deluding herself” over Brexit.