Michel Barnier said that the UK would not be granted any special economic relationship with the EU

Europe’s chief Brexit negotiator has dismissed Theresa May’s Chequers proposals and criticised her plan to avoid a hard border in Northern Ireland as “an invitation to fraud”.

Michel Barnier said that the UK would not be granted any special economic relationship with the EU as it would unravel the single market and the entire “European project”.

The remarks amount to an ultimatum that Britain must either choose a Canadian-style free trade agreement or remain in the customs union or common market, which would mean being tightly bound by European regulation.

Mrs May’s Chequers strategy, which would involve British officials collecting tolls on behalf of Brussels, has now run into “unanimous” opposition from the 27 EU member states, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. Mr