Theresa May is set to “flounce out” of EU negotiations in Florence, according to Lib Dem Brexit spokesman Tom Brake.
The Prime Minister has announced she will make a speech in Florence on Friday, ahead of the latest round of delayed Brexit negotiations, which have been pushed back a week and will now start on Monday, September 25.
Downing Street spin doctors have argued the PM wants to emphasise her wish for a “deep and special partnership” with the EU in Florence, a city known for its historical trading power.
But Mr Brake said he was sceptical of the possibility she could make concessions.
He said: “I’m in two minds about what she’s going to say.
“Part of me believes she’s going to say these negotiations are not going anywhere, so we’re walking out and going for no deal.
“But the spin around this is the Prime Minister is going to make a concession – perhaps this would be in terms of putting forward a figure for the settlement bill.”
Mr Brake claimed the speech being timed just before the Conservatives’ UK conference at the start of October meant she was unlikely to soften her approach to the EU.
He said: “Another reason I think it might just be to tear everything up and flounce away is is the timing.
“The idea that, a few days before conference, she would say ‘we’ve made certain commitments and as part of a transitional deal, we will pay you £50b seems incredibly unlikely.
“Boris Johnson has already made a preemptive strike ‘saying we’re not going to pay in’, so if she does that just before conference, she will get slaughtered.”
Downing Street was contacted for a response, but declined to comment.