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The French government has threatened to veto a further Brexit extension due to the “worrying” lack of progress in the recent talks, as EU diplomats expressed their frustration at being caught up in game-playing by the British government.

In a sign of rising exasperation at the state of the Brexit talks in Brussels over replacing the Irish backstop, the French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, highlighted the lack of realistic proposals being put forward by Downing Street.

“It’s very worrying. The British must tell us what they want,” Le Drian said.