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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Theresa May due in Paris to discuss Britain's EU exit plans | Theresa May due in Paris to discuss Britain's EU exit plans |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| The French president, François Hollande, has insisted again that the UK’s negotiations to leave the EU should not be allowed to “drag on”, as he prepared to meet Theresa May in Paris. | |
| The prime minister will attend a working dinner hosted by Hollande at the Élysée Palace on Thursday, a day after she met her German counterpart, Angela Merkel, in Berlin. | |
| Speaking at a meeting with the Irish taoiseach, Enda Kenny, Hollande said: “The most important thing is that they [negotiations] should not drag on. The sooner the negotiations are open the better, and the shorter the better.” | |
| A spokeswoman for May said she would make it clear it was for the UK government to determine the timeline for Brexit, as she had in a phone call with Hollande last week. | |
| Related: Angela Merkel backs Theresa May's plan not to trigger Brexit this year | Related: Angela Merkel backs Theresa May's plan not to trigger Brexit this year |
| “The opportunity of the meeting this evening is for them to sit and talk face to face, for her to explain what her approach is going to be,” she said. “The PM has been clear that it is for the UK government to decide when it triggers article 50.” | |
| May’s meeting with Hollande comes less than a week after the attack in Nice, where 84 people were killed when Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel drove a truck into crowds celebrating Bastille Day. Security and counter-terrorism are likely to be a key element of their discussions. | |
| No 10 denied May expected the encounter to be more difficult than her meeting with Merkel on Wednesday. | |
| “We are going to one of our oldest most important partners where the depth of our relationship on security and defence is very important to both of us,” the spokeswoman said. “The French have appreciated the work we have done particularly in recent months, particularly on counter-terrorism and security.” | |
| The prime minister’s visit to the French capital follows warnings from a former head of the World Trade Organisation that it was “pie in the sky” for the UK to expect access to the single market without freedom of movement. | |
| Pascal Lamy said Hollande would want firm details on the new relationship Britain planned to have with the EU after cutting formal ties with the bloc. | |
| “The big question mark for the EU 27 is, what is the UK actually looking for?” he said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “Trade is a major question, but it is not only about trade, it is about defence, diplomacy, environmental protection.” | |
| He defended warnings he gave during the referendum campaign that Britain could not necessarily expect to keep access to the single market without free movement of people. | He defended warnings he gave during the referendum campaign that Britain could not necessarily expect to keep access to the single market without free movement of people. |
| “What I said in the campaign is the notion that there will be no difference to the relationship was pie in the sky. This is absolutely obvious,” he said. | “What I said in the campaign is the notion that there will be no difference to the relationship was pie in the sky. This is absolutely obvious,” he said. |
| Lamy cited Norway’s access to the single market under the condition they accept free movement and pay contributions to the EU budget. “As far as I understand the Brexit vote, it was no to free movement and no to paying to the EU,” he said. “That’s why saying we can have something like Norway remains pie in the sky. | Lamy cited Norway’s access to the single market under the condition they accept free movement and pay contributions to the EU budget. “As far as I understand the Brexit vote, it was no to free movement and no to paying to the EU,” he said. “That’s why saying we can have something like Norway remains pie in the sky. |
| After meeting Merkel in Berlin, May repeated her pledge that the UK would leave the EU. But she said the two-year article 50 process would not be triggered until at least the end of the year. | |
| Merkel said they agreed the UK needed time to secure its own interests, but that other EU states needed clarity and certainty as soon as possible. May said the two countries would remain vital partners and special friends. | |
| “All of us will need time to prepare for these negotiations and the United Kingdom will not invoke article 50 until our objectives are clear,” she said. “I understand this timescale will not please everyone, but I think it is important to provide clarity on that now.” | “All of us will need time to prepare for these negotiations and the United Kingdom will not invoke article 50 until our objectives are clear,” she said. “I understand this timescale will not please everyone, but I think it is important to provide clarity on that now.” |