Door still open to reverse Brexit, says Macron

Mr Macron, who held talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May yesterday, made the statement as speculation mounts as to when the Brexit talks – which were supposed to get under way on Monday having already been delayed by the UK elections - will finally get under way.

Saying the talks should start “as soon as possible”, Mr Macron said the door remained open to Britain until the end of the negotiations, however once the talks process was fully under way it would become harder to go back.

Mrs May said Britain was going ahead with Brexit and talks would start some time “next week”.

The leaders also discussed issues of security – Mrs May said they spoke about how to “tackle terrorism and root out the extremism that fuels it” because both France and the UK have suffered recent attacks.

Mr Macron said they would launch a plan requiring internet companies to work harder to remove content promoting hatred and terrorism.

Also originally planned for Monday next week was the British government’s Queen’s Speech, outlining bills it hopes to introduce in the coming year. However this may also reportedly be delayed.

This is thought to be due to last-minute negotiations with new potential partners the Democratic Unionist Party, however a government source gave The Guardian a more unusual reason for a possible delay – by tradition the speech is written on thick goatskin and it takes several days to dry.