Jean-Claude Juncker has slammed the British media and says his human rights aren't being respected

Jean-Claude Juncker has hit out at the British media and demanded curbs on press freedom over ‘Juncker the drunker?’ headlines which have dogged him ever since he became European Commission President.

In an outspoken interview, given as the Brexit negotiations near their critical phase, Mr Juncker said he was looking forward to being free from press scrutiny after he steps down next year.

‘They do not respect the human rights of political actors at all,’ he said. ‘Press freedom also has its limits. You must not intrude and put pressure on our private space.’

At the time of his 2014 appointment – which was strongly opposed by Britain’s then prime minister David Cameron – it was reported that Mr Juncker ‘enjoyed cognac for breakfast’, with numerous claims of his alleged drinking emerging since then.

Earlier this year, he was accused of being intoxicated at a Nato summit in Brussels after a video showed him apparently unable to walk without assistance and being taken away in a wheelchair.

His spokesman insisted at the time that he was suffering from a ‘painful attack of sciatica accompanied by cramps’, with Mr Juncker appealing for ‘respect’ after concerns were raised about his health.

The 63-year-old has previously spoken of his anger at false implications that his late father Joseph – who was forced to fight in the Wehrmacht after the Nazi regime invaded Luxembourg – had been a Hitler sympathiser. In his interview with Austrian reporters on Friday, Mr Juncker revealed that he was more confident a Brexit deal could be reached by next month. ‘Our will is unbroken to reach agreement with the British Government,’ he said. ‘It must be remembered... that Britain is leaving the Union, not the European Union from the UK.

‘I have reason to think the rapprochement potential between both sides has increased in recent days. But it can not be foreseen whether we will finish in October. If not, we’ll do it in November.’ Asked if a Brexit U-turn was still possible, Mr Juncker added: ‘That is in the discretion of the British Parliament and the Government. I do not interfere in inner Cabinet debates in the UK. There is enough confusion.’

The Mail on Sunday has been told by a senior Government source that British negotiators are close to securing the EU’s agreement to Theresa May’s Chequers plan after offering to allow Northern Ireland to remain subject to Brussels rules on state aid, which prevent Government subsidies to give a competitive advantage to key industries.

If agreed, it would align the province with Dublin – and is likely to trigger strong protests from the Democratic Unionist Party, whose MPs allow Mrs May to hold the balance of power in the Commons.

There will be a frenzy of diplomatic activity next week ahead of a Brussels summit on October 17, which the EU hopes will thrash out the fundamentals of the withdrawal agreement.