Theresa May’s election ‘power grab’ slammed by EU's Guy Verhofstadt

European parliament's Brexit coordinator says result of snap election on 8 June will be an irrelevance in Brussels

Theresa May's claim that she will be strengthened in the Brexit talks by a general election victory has been dismissed as nonsense by the European parliament's Brexit coordinator, who has condemned the prime minister as a political opportunist.

In an outspoken attack, Guy Verhofstadt suggests the prime minister was motivated by party political considerations rather than the national interest in calling a poll for 8 June.