British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday accused Brussels of deliberately making "threats" over the Brexit talks in order to affect the outcome of next month's general election.

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In a tough statement issued outside her Downing Street office just hours after the European Union's negotiator set out his plans for Brexit negotiations, May said some people in the EU did not want the negotiations to succeed.

"In the last few days, we have seen just how tough these talks are likely to be," the Conservative Party leader said, charging that Britain's negotiating position had been "misrepresented" in the European press.

"The European Commission's negotiating stance has hardened. Threats against Britain have been issued by European politicians and officials," she said.

"All of these acts have been deliberately timed to affect the result of the general election that will take place on June 8."

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May in a ‘different galaxy’

May was speaking in front of 10 Downing Street office after visiting Queen Elizabeth to mark the dissolution of parliament, the formal start of the election campaign.

Her comments came days after a German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published a damning account of talks last week between May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

The paper reported that Juncker left a dinner meeting with May last week "10 times more sceptical" about the prospect of a Brexit deal and told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that May was in a "different galaxy".

May, whose Conservative Party have a double-digit lead in the polls, said reaching the best Brexit deal would be the overriding task for whoever wins the June 8 election and called on voters to give her their backing to "fight for Britain".

She said that while Britain wanted to reach a deal with the EU, that view was not shared by everyone in Brussels.

Blasting Brussels

May added: "The events of the last few days have shown that -- whatever our wishes, and however reasonable the positions of Europe's other leaders -- there are some in Brussels who do not want these talks to succeed, who do not want Britain to prosper," she said.

"Whoever wins on 8 June will face one overriding task: to get the best possible deal for this United Kingdom from Brexit," she added.

"If we don't get the negotiation right, if we let the bureaucrats of Brussels run over us, we will lose the chance to build a fairer society."

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)

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