Our Politics newsletter is now daily. Join thousands of others and get the latest Scottish politics news sent straight to your inbox. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Ruth Davidson has implied EU leader Jean-Claude Juncker likes a drink as she insisted accounts of a Brexit bust-up with Theresa May are unreliable.

The Scottish Conservative leader made a thinly-veiled reference to the European Commission President’s alleged drinking habits as she said he should not be trusted as an “honest narrator” after a “good dinner”.

Davidson made the incendiary claim after a damaging account of Juncker’s Downing Street Brexit dinner date with Theresa May last week was published in a German newspaper.

Juncker has previously denied having an alcohol problem after allegations that senior diplomats were concerned over his lifestyle.

(Image: PA)

On Monday, a German newspaper revealed deep dismay among the top EU team who travelled to Downing Street for the talks.

It was claimed Juncker left the dinner on Wednesday saying he is now “10 times as sceptical as I was before”.

It exposed a gulf between the two camps and led to claims that Brexit talks will collapse in disaster.

Retaliating today, Davidson said: “I did slightly laugh because it must be an election campaign in Britain because all other times the idea that journalists in the UK would take tales that Jean Claude Juncker tells after a good dinner as an honest narrator I think is unusual.

(Image: Reuters)

“If the EU is going to be incredibly robust in its positioning as we go to these Brexit talks - that reinforces the need for a strong prime minister.

“Somebody is going to have to sit across the table from them. It’s either going to be Theresa May or it’s going to be Jeremy Corbyn aided and abetted by Diane Abott.

“I have to say I know who my choice is and I know who I believe the majority choice across the UK will be.”

Allegations of a drink problem have dogged Juncker for years.

One diplomat is said to have claimed he had “cognac for breakfast” - a claim Juncker furiously denied.

Reacting to accusations last year, he said: “You think I’d still be in office if I was having cognac for breakfast? It really makes me sad and it has even led my wife to question if I lie to her, as I do not drink when I’m home.”

The Downing Street dinner accusations appeared to catch the UK team on the hop.

According to the leak in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, May claimed the UK does not owe Brussels any money.

The assertion flies in the face of EU claims that Britain could be hit with a £50billion divorce bill.

And a German newspaper claims that Juncker told her the EU “is not a golf club” where members can quit and stop paying.

Juncker and chief negotiator Michel Barnier were allegedly astonished at May’s belief that the crucial issue of what happens to the three million EU citizens in the UK and the hundreds of thousands of British expats on the continent could be resolved at an EU Council meeting next month.

The Brussels pair thought the timetable too optimistic, the paper reported.

May also hoped monthly Brexit talks could take place, each lasting four days, with all details remaining secret until the end of the process.

Davidson said the account will play into Tory hands in the general election and pose a problem for the SNP in Scotland.

She added: “People across Scotland understand that the UK is leaving the EU and therefore it’s important we get the best deal as we leave, so you need a strong negotiating team.

“I think what the SNP has to be careful about is it it is cheerleading for the UK to get a bad deal. That’s not in anyone’s interests.”