BRITAIN’S hopes of getting a good Brexit deal have been rocked after Berlin tightened its grip on EU power.

In a shock move, Martin Selmayr - the infamous chief of staff for EU boss Jean-Claude Juncker - was yesterday promoted to become the bloc’s top civil servant.

2 Martin Selmayr, who has been nicknamed 'The Monster' due to his iron grip on Brussels policymaking Credit: EPA

He will become the Commission’s secretary-general, granting him sweeping powers over a range of issues including Brexit.

The fearsome German, nicknamed the Monster due to his iron grip on Brussels policymaking, has been blamed for a number of flashpoints in the talks.

Mr Selmayr, who is despised by British officials, was widely blamed for leaking embarrassing details of two dinners Theresa May had with his boss.

He is also said to be locked in an epic power struggle with chief negotiator Michel Barnier for control over the negotiations.

2 Selmayr was widely blamed for leaking embarrassing details of his two dinners with Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker last year Credit: PA:Press Association

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Leading Eurocrats yesterday denied that Mr Selmayr would act as “an undercover agent for German politics."

But Tory MEP Syed Kamall fumed: “This appointment resembles nothing more than jobs for the boys.”

“I actually think he might be a psychopath,” one senior former Downing Street official said.