Theresa May was warned by Michel Barnier last night that her Chequers blueprint for Brexit breached “fundamental” European principles and that she would need to make further concessions to reach a deal.

In pointed remarks before his first meeting with Dominic Raab, the new Brexit secretary, the EU’s chief negotiator said that any deal would have to “respect” the integrity of Europe’s single market. He said that it would be a “challenge” to find common ground between the fundamental principles that defined the EU and the UK’s white paper.

His comments come as European ministers meet today in Brussels for the first time to discuss the white paper.

Privately Mr Barnier is understood to be “unimpressed” by the document, claiming that it failed to set