Theresa May is now as unpopular in Germany as Vladimir Putin, according to a new survey.

The Prime Minister and the Russian President both have an approval rating among Germans of minus 45, the YouGov poll found.

The low level of support for Ms May is likely linked to her tough rhetoric about the EU, particularly her promise to be a “difficult woman” during the Brexit negotiations.

The Conservatives' poor showing at the general election, where the party was expected to win but ended up losing their House of Commons majority, may also have had an impact.

Of the five major world leaders included in the poll, only Donald Trump (minus 71) is more disliked by German people.

The findings will come as a blow to Ms May as she prepares to travel to Hamburg for a meeting of the G20, where she will hold talks with several heads of state, including Mr Trump.

Ms May is likely to be particularly concerned by the fact she is more unpopular in the UK than other European leaders. Her rating of minus 27 is significantly lower than the plus 17 enjoyed by Emmanuel Macron and the plus three by Angela Merkel.

However, she remains more popular among British people than Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, who are both on minus 64.

The Prime Minister had a negative approval rating in all seven European countries surveyed, although she was significantly more popular than Mr Trump and Mr Putin in all but Germany.

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She was most well-regarded in Norway, where her rating was minus 9, followed by Denmark (minus 10), Finland (minus 12), Sweden (minus 14) and France (minus 23).

Mr Putin sank to a score of minus 78 in Denmark while Mr Trump dropped even lower in the same country to minus 80.

Mr Macron and Ms Merkel, on the other hand, are hugely popular across Europe, although more so in other countries than their own. The highest rating in the survey is the plus 56 the German Chancellor scores in Denmark, closely followed by plus 50 for French President Mr Macron in Germany.