Boris Johnson must be sacked to prevent Brexit negotiations breaking down, warns senior MEP

'Please sack Johnson because we need a clear answer who is responsible for the British position'

MEPs in the European Parliament enjoy a veto over the final Brexit deal (Getty)

Boris Johnson must be sacked to prevent the Brexit negotiations breaking down, a senior MEP has urged Theresa May.

Manfred Weber, a key ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said the Foreign Secretary’s interventions left the Government “trapped by their own party quarrels and political contradictions”.

“Please sack Johnson because we need a clear answer who is responsible for the British position,” said the leader of the centre-right EPP grouping in the European Parliament.

The warning was echoed by Guy Verhofstadt, the Parliament's Brexit co-ordinator, who said Cabinet splits were blocking progress in the exit talks.

“There is a lack of clarity, there is even disunity. There are oppositions between Hammond and Fox. There are divisions between Johnson and May,” Mr Verhofstadt said.

MEPs are debating a motion urging EU leaders not to move onto talking about a future trade deal, because Britain has failed to make progress on the divorce deal.

The vote in Strasbourg is not binding, but the views of MEPs are crucial because they have a veto over any final Brexit agreement.

The Parliament is expected to decide that the “red lines” set out by Mr Johnson in a weekend newspaper article will make it impossible for Ms May to strike her hoped-for transition deal with the EU.

MEPs are likely to warn that they will veto any deal unless Britain continues to accept European Court of Justice (ECJ) rulings during any implementation period.

Ending the jurisdiction of the court immediately at the point of Brexit was one of the four red lines set out by the Foreign Secretary over the weekend.

He also demanded that no new EU directives or regulations should apply to Britain after Brexit and that the UK should not pay, or accept EU rules, to gain long-term access to the single market.

Some senior Tories believe that Mr Johnson is deliberately attempting to set Mrs May up to fail by making demands that Brussels will never agree to.