Donald Tusk has given fresh impetus to Conservative MPs who want Theresa May to ditch her Brexit plan, a little more than 24 hours after the prime minister again called for "respect" from Brussels.

The European Council president also strongly criticised Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, branding his recent comparison of the EU to the Soviet Union "unwise as it is insulting", noting he had "spent half his life in the Soviet bloc".

And he suggested the Conservative Party conference, which was dominated by tensions over Brexit, had served to delay the progress of the exit talks.

Speaking after holding talks with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in Brussels, Mr Tusk said: "The EU wants a relationship with the UK that is as close and special as possible.

"From the very beginning, the EU offer has been not just a Canada deal, but a Canada+++ deal.


"Much further-reaching on trade, on internal security and on foreign policy cooperation.

"This is a true measure of respect. And this offer remains in place."

His intervention is significant because Tories opposed to Chequers - Mrs May's plan for Brexit that would see Britain sign up to EU rules and regulations for goods (a "common rulebook") - say she should instead go for a deal similar to the one Brussels agreed with Canada.

'Come together or risk no Brexit at all'

This is the view of Boris Johnson, who has been leading calls for Mrs May to change course and delivered a high-profile speech on the fringes of the Tory conference in Birmingham in which he called Chequers an "outrage".

Canada's free trade deal with the EU allows it to access the European market on improved terms while not being a member, so it does not have to contribute to the EU budget, follow European Court of Justice laws or adopt freedom of movement.

Nearly all tariffs on imports and exports have been eliminated, while there are more opportunities for companies to do business and workers to move between the territories.

Brexiteers argue such a deal would give the UK greater scope to diverge from EU rules and that additional friction at borders could be minimised through trusted trader schemes, product bar coding and other non-border checks.

Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg welcomed Mr Tusk's intervention, saying a Canada-style deal was a "good solution for everyone", while former UKIP leader Nigel Farage said: "Please Mrs May, bite his hand off."

This is a good solution for everyone and the ERG's proposals for the Irish border mean it could work for the UK as a whole. https://t.co/Nb2ftyixd8 — Jacob Rees-Mogg (@Jacob_Rees_Mogg) October 4, 2018

Please Mrs May, bite his hand off. https://t.co/1f9Lo6x8bX — Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) October 4, 2018

But Mrs May is opposed to such a deal because she argues it would require a customs border in the Irish Sea and lead to the breakup of the UK because Northern Ireland would have to be treated differently to the rest of the UK.

Downing Street has yet to respond to Mr Tusk's latest remarks, although they are likely to be viewed as unhelpful in the wake of the PM's call for unity at the Tory conference.

She said those who want to deliver Brexit "need to come together now", and warned: "If we don't - if we all go off in different directions in pursuit of our own visions of the perfect Brexit - we risk ending up with no Brexit at all."

Referencing the conference, Mr Tusk said that as a former party leader he knows "what the rules of party politics are".

'Chuck Chequers': Johnson speech highlights

"But now the Tory party conference is over we should get down to business," he said.

And he was withering in his assessment of Mr Hunt's EU-Soviet Union comparison, which was made in the foreign secretary's conference speech.

Mr Tusk, a former prime minister of Poland who was jailed as a young man living behind the Iron Curtain, said: "In respecting our partners, we expect the same in return.

"Comparing the EU to the Soviet Union is as unwise as it is insulting.

"The Soviet Union was about prisons and gulags, borders and walls, violence against citizens and neighbours.

"The European Union is about freedom and human rights, prosperity and peace, life without fear, it is about democracy and pluralism - a continent without internal borders and walls."

Nicky Morgan: 'A no deal outcome should be avoided at all costs'

The EU council president added: "Unacceptable remarks that raise the temperature will achieve nothing except wasting more time."

And in an apparent reference to Downing Street's reaction to the Salzburg summit, Mr Tusk dismissed suggestions the EU was not respecting Britain.

"Telling the truth, even if difficult and unpleasant, is the best way of showing respect for partners, that's how it was in Salzburg and that's also how it will work in the coming days," he said.

Meanwhile, reported new British proposals to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland post-Brexit have been welcomed by an EU source close the negotiations.

Raab: We will hold our nerve in negotiations

The Irish border is a key sticking point in the talks, with one particular source of friction a disagreement on what the fallback arrangement should be if Britain and the EU cannot agree a deal, the so-called "backstop".

According to Reuters, EU diplomats and officials have said Britain is proposing agreeing to an indefinite backstop, something which was missing from a plan put forward - and rejected by Brussels - in June.

EU sources said the British proposal would remove the need for customs checks on goods and agriculture on the island of Ireland.

They said that for the other type of checks, regulatory ones, Britain would agree to simplified, light controls on goods going from the British mainland to Northern Ireland that would be carried out away from the actual border as much as possible.

This has the potential to cause friction with the DUP, who are vehemently against different rules for Northern Ireland.