Prime Minister Theresa May has warned the European Union that she will be a “bloody difficult woman” as Britain negotiates an exit strategy from the major economic bloc. May made the comment on Tuesday after day-long debates over a reportedly “disastrous” dinner meeting between her and European Commission President Jean-Claude Junker at Downing Street last week.
“I think what we’ve seen recently is that at times these negotiations are going to be tough. During the Conservative Party leadership campaign, I was described by one of my colleagues as a bloody difficult woman. And I said at the time the next person to find that out will be Jean-Claude Juncker,” 60-year-old May told the BBC.
The “bloody difficult” quote is attributed to former Conservative MP and Chancellor Ken Clarke, who was recorded discussing May after a TV interview last year. Her fierce reaction was in reference to a German newspaper, ‘Frankurter Allgemeine’, report based on allegedly leaked information that May and Juncker had clashed at Downing Street over the British PM’s desire to make Brexit “a success” and on whether the issue of protecting the rights of expat British and EU nationals could be agreed as early as June.
