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'WE WON'T BE SHY ABOUT OUR INTERESTS'

US Secretary of State John Kerry urges Theresa May not to push for a ‘Hard Brexit’ clean break from EU

The US Secretary of State spoke at an EU conference about how the White House needs a “highly collaborative” relationship between London and Brussels.

US Secretary of State John Kerry

THERESA MAY was yesterday urged not to push for a ‘Hard Brexit’ clean break from the EU by US Secretary of State John Kerry.

Renewing America’s fears over about a Brexit, Mr Kerry said the White House needed a “highly integrated, highly collaborative” relationship between London and Brussels.

 Kerry has warned over a hard Brexit
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Kerry has warned over a hard BrexitCredit: Getty Images

Speaking at an EU conference yesterday, the US veteran said the US would “support its friends and allies on both sides of the Channel”.

But he added: “We will not be shy about where our interests lie: we need the strongest possible EU, the strongest possible UK and a highly integrated, collaborative relationship between them.”

“Our goal as talks are launched next Spring, must be to once again prove the pundits wrong – to put to shame all those who once again have declared the vision of Europe dead.”

 Mr Kerry told the PM the White House needed a “highly integrated, highly collaborative” relationship between London and Brussels
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Mr Kerry told the PM the White House needed a “highly integrated, highly collaborative” relationship between London and BrusselsCredit: Getty

Hours earlier, former Belgian PM Guy Verhofstadt warned that giving the UK access to the single market without insisting on free movement of people would destroy the EU project.

The European Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator said: “If you start to make a split between them you destroy in fact the union and its internal market.

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