EU'VE LOST IT
Sneering Eurocrat Donald Tusk is caught on camera LAUGHING after he says there’s a ‘special place in hell’ for Brexiteers
DONALD Tusk was caught smirking after being told he would get in "terrible trouble" over his "special place in hell" Brexiteers jibe.
The sneering Eurocrat has been urged to apologise over the Twitter outburst.
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But the European Council president, 61, was filmed laughing after a press conference with the Irish leader Leo Varadkar who had told him he would get "terrible trouble" over the rant.
Tusk had caused uproar with his explosive comments, which came as leaders are urgently looking for a compromise deal to ensure that Brexit happens on time and as planned.
Guy Verhofstadt, the EU's Brexit co-ordinator, picked up on Tusk's comments and also taunted Brexiteers.
He wrote: "I doubt Lucifer would welcome them, as after what they did to Britain, they would even manage to divide Hell."
MPs have reacted with fury and accused Tusk of deliberately pushing Britain towards No Deal.
Mr Tusk told journalists today at a conference in Brussels: "By the way, I have been wondering what that special place in hell looks like for those who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan to carry it (out) safely."
He then doubled down by tweeting the same comment just seconds later, and was seen laughing on camera about the backlash.
There are just 50 days to go until we leave the EU and "our most important task is to prevent a No Deal scenario", Mr Tusk stressed.
But he said that Brussels would make "no new offer" to the UK to help get Theresa May's deal through the House of Commons, despite MPs clearly rejecting it last month over the hated Northern Irish border plan.
The "top priority" for the bloc was to "maintain the peace process in accordance with the Good Friday Agreement", Mr Tusk said.
"We will not gamble with peace or put a sell-by date on the resolution. This is why we insist on the backstop," he added.
And he admitted the idea of a second Brexit referendum to remain in the EU was dead because both Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May wouldn't let it happen.
"Today, there is no political force and no effective leadership for remain," he said.
However, later on that day Mr Tusk's EU colleague Jean Claude Juncker insisted: "I believe in heaven".
Bring on global Britain!
Andrea Leadsom
MPs instantly hit back furiously at Mr Tusk to insist we DO have a plan for leaving, and his comments just made it more likely we'd leave without a deal.
DUP MP Sammy Wilson branded him a "devilish, trident-wielding euro maniac" and said he was doing the best to keep us tied to the EU.
"It is Tusk and his arrogant EU negotiators who have fanned the flamed of fear in an attempt to try and overturn the result of the referendum," he stormed.
Tory MP Nick Boles added: "Donald Tusk has just encapsulated perfectly why I do not believe the UK can remain a member of the EU. We must leave, with a deal."
Brexiteer MP Andrea Jenkyns hit out too, saying: "Mr Tusk, we have a plan! We are not restricted in our Little EU'er mentality.
"Bring on Global Britain, we will embrace Global Free trade. Whilst you will continue to see the inflexible EU trading bloc in collective, perpetual decline."
'NO DEAL MORE LIKELY'
A No10 spokesperson insisted that it was a "question for Donald Tusk as to whether he thinks the use of that language to be helpful."
However, Commons leader Andrea Leadsom added: "The man has no manners. I think it's extremely regrettable, not at all helpful."
And Matt Hancock added: "It's this sort of arrogance that drives antipathy towards the EU.
"We are a country that upholds the result of democratic votes. Our EU partners need to respect that."
Tory MP Grant Shapps raged that Mr Tusk's infuriating comments were just making no deal more likely: "By saying "there is a special place in hell for those who promoted #Brexit without any plan for how to carry it [out]", you appear to be actively trying to wind everyone up & even deliberately foil securing a #WithdrawalAgreement. IT'S ENOUGH!"
Paul Scully said it was the EU who prevented us discussing a free trade deal upfront which would have solved the Irish border issue months ago.
He added: "Shame one of the many EU leaders has chosen inflammatory language and a skewed position."
Donald Tusk’s ‘special place in hell for Brexiteers’ comment proves exactly why we need to leave the EU
By Jacob Rees-Mogg
THANK heavens we are leaving. Brussels still does not get it!
Donald Tusk’s claim that there is a “special place in hell” for Brexiteers who wanted to quit the bloc “without a plan” shows exactly why the British people rejected the EU in the first place.
Mr Tusk’s arrogant and high-handed approach assumes the public did not make an informed decision to Leave.
He is saying that 17.4million people are stupid and got it wrong primarily because they are objecting to the system that he benefits from.
Britain is implementing the will of the people. That is democracy, but Mr Tusk represents bureaucracy so is incapable of understanding the popular mood.
Considering all the problems going on elsewhere in the bloc - like the violence in France, and the devastation caused by the euro, you would expect them to have some appreciation for the discontent that many people feel with the EU.
Instead, he makes lurid comments about people who want to look after their voters’ interests, and deliver on what they wanted.
It just makes the EU look unreasonable and bad tempered.
Yet we must not respond in kind by being annoyed with them; they say these things to wind us up, but actually we are just laughing at them.
It is far from serious political discourse, it is playground politics. You would have hoped they would have more sense.
All it does is make voters say "thank Heavens we are leaving - they are so self absorbed".
Sadly, Mr Tusk’s theology is not very good either - circles of hell are not reserved for people we disagree with.
They should go back to their Bible studies for another look - or perhaps I should send them the catechism to remind them of the teaching of Holy Mother Church.
Finally, his claim we do not have a plan just is false.
Change or Go which preceded Vote Leave produced a 1,000 page document setting out the options while the ERG has continued to develop these ideas.
The Malthouse compromise is being discussed right now between Leavers and Remainers, who are teaming up to make sure that our exit is delivered in a way that can work for everyone.
There has never been a shortage of eurosceptic ideas of how Brexit could be implemented, up to and including leaving without a deal.
However, it seems, to misquote Congreve, that "Hell has no fury like a European Union scorned".
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However, Remainer and second referendum campaigner Phillip Lee, who quit the Government over Brexit, insisted that the sneering politician was actually correct in his assessment that there was no plan for leaving the EU.
He said his comments were "based on reality" and he blamed "reckless, shallow politicians" who promised Brexit they couldn't deliver.
The huge row comes as Irish PM Leo Varadkar is in Brussels today for talks with EU leaders.
It was claimed earlier that Angela Merkel may be set to encourage Dublin to accept a technological solution for the Irish border - if Britain can come up with it.
Talks are ongoing today back in London over the so-called Plan C - a compromise agreement from Remainers and Leavers working together.
Mrs May will fly to Dublin on Friday for talks with the Irish PM, Mr Varadkar.
He insisted today that there was no way the EU would sign off anything without the backstop in it - and he would do everything possible to avoid a hard border with the EU after we leave.
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MOST READ IN BREXIT
And he was "concerned" about the idea of so-called alternative arrangements because "they can mean whatever you want them to mean."
Mr Juncker added today: "The so-called alternative arrangements can never replace the backstop.
"The backstop is not the backstop for the pleasure of it, it's needed for obvious, vital reasons."
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