UK's pre-summit push to 'divide and rule EU 27 impeded Brexit talks'

The European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, had previously cautioned the UK not to appeal directly to individual EU 27 leaders.The British government’s attempt to lobby individual EU leaders in the run-up to the recent crunch EU summit, where member states were to judge the progress of the negotiations, actively damaged Theresa May’s hopes of a better outcome, the Guardian has learned.A secret plan had been drawn up under which the EU leaders would have made the surprise