Jeremy Hunt: Don't Mistake Politeness For Weakness bbc.com

After rejecting the UK's proposals, Donald Tusk, head of the European Council, posted a provocative picture on Instagram featuring UK PM Theresa May "cherry-picking" a cake.

Mr Tusk has since said he admires Mrs May, and a compromise is possible.

But Mr Hunt said Mr Tusk needed to avoid "revving up" the situation.

He insisted it was time for people in the EU "to step back from the abyss" of a no-deal Brexit, to "sit down and to talk to us about how we can make these sensible, concrete proposals actually work".

Mrs May tried to sell her proposals for the UK's future relationship with the EU at a summit in Salzburg, Austria, this week.

The plan – the so-called Chequers agreement – was agreed by the UK government in July.