Boris Johnson has become embroiled in a row with an Italian minister after threatening that Brexit would hit prosecco sales.

A Brexit discussion between Mr Johnson and Italian economic development minister Carlo Calenda degenerated into a scrap over who would be able to sell more prosecco and fish and chips when the UK left the EU.

Mr Calenda accused the Foreign Secretary, who has recently returned from a five-country tour to "strengthen relations with European partners", of making "insulting" comments.

He said Mr Johnson claimed that if the UK didn't get a good Brexit trade deal then prosecco sales would suffer.

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In an account of their conversation given to Bloomberg, Mr Calenda said: "He basically said: 'I don't want free movement of people but I want the single market.


"I said: 'No way'. He said: 'You'll sell less prosecco'. I said: 'OK, you'll sell less fish and chips, but I'll sell less prosecco to one country and you'll sell less to 27 countries.'

"Putting things on this level is a bit insulting."

Mr Johnson has also come under fire for claiming that it was "b*******" to suggest that freedom of movement was a fundamental right of the EU.

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During an interview with a Czech newspaper, the Foreign Secretary said: "It's a total myth, nonsense. It is stupid to stay that freedom of movement is a fundamental right.

"It's something that has been acquired by a series of decisions by the courts.

"And everyone now has in his head that every human being has a fundamental, God-given right to go and move wherever he wants. But it is not."

He added: "The idea that freedom of movement is a fundamental right of the EU is just b*******."

Mr Johnson was also criticised for suggesting that the UK would leave the customs union - but retain a "dynamic trade relationship".

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Downing Street was quick to say that no decision had been taken on membership of the customs union, which allows trade free of customs levies but with agreed tariffs on imports outside the union.

At Prime Minister's Questions, Jeremy Corbyn suggested Mr Johnson's claims, also made in the newspaper interview and which seemed to differ from those coming from Downing Street, showed a Government whose Brexit plans were a "total shambles".

Lib Dem Leader Tim Farron said: "It's outrageous that Boris Johnson seems to think it's OK for foreign newspaper readers to know more about our economic future than British businesses."

Mr Johnson's incendiary comments come in a week where two reports were highly critical of the Government's approach to Brexit.

And in a new poll by Ipsos Mori, almost half of voters said they believed Theresa May and her team were handling the exit from the EU well.

Some 48% of those questioned said the Government was doing a bad job of handling Brexit, compared to 37% who felt it had been successful so far.