Theresa May steps out in striking red-lipped shoes after her calls to continue playing a key EU role during Brexit talks angers her fellow leaders
PM called for ‘mature and co-operative’ relationship between UK and Brussels as she leaves first European Council summit
THERESA May tried to put her best foot forward in a pair of bright red-lipped shoes as she sparked anger amongst her fellow EU leaders at her first European Council summit.
The Prime Minister called for a "mature and co-operative" relationship between Britain and Brussels, as she seeks a "smooth" Brexit which she said can be in the interests of both sides.
But her demands for the UK to play a full role in the bloc while at the same time negotiating its exit have riled senior figures, who said it was wrong to try to shape the future of the EU while trying to leave.
Mrs May also found herself side-lined at the two-day event in the Belgian capital, after being given just five minutes at the end of dinner in the early hours of the morning to set out her position on Brexit.
In a press conference this lunchtime she said she had made clear that the UK "will continue to play a full and active role within the EU" until the process of withdrawal under Article 50 of the EU treaties is completed.
And she rejected calls to sign off decisions made in meetings that the UK is shut out of, after other leaders confirmed they will continue to freeze the UK out of some meeting.
She said Britain will be "a confident, outward-looking country, enthusiastic about co-operating with our European friends and allies after we leave".
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The PM added that she wanted to "cement Britain as a close partner of the EU once we have left", able to control immigration as well as trading freely with the continent.
Speaking to reporters she said: "The UK will continue to face similar challenges to our European neighbours, we will continue to share the same values, so I want a mature, co-operative relationship with our European partners.
"I recognise the scale of the challenge ahead. I'm sure there will be difficult moments. It will require some give and take.
"But I firmly believe that if we approach this in a constructive spirit - as I am - then we can deliver a smooth departure and build a powerful new relationship that works both for the UK and for the countries of the EU looking for opportunities, not problems.
"That's in British interests and it's in the interests of all our European partners too."
Mrs May said she wanted to see the completion of the EU's Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) free trade deal with Canada, which is currently being held up by opposition in the Walloon regional parliament in Belgium.
But she stressed: "From the UK's point of view, we are not looking to replicate a model that another country has, we are not looking to adopt another model that somebody else has in relation to their trade with the European Union.
"What we want is to develop what is a new relationship for the UK with the EU, to be there when we are outside the EU. What we want is to ensure that we have the right deal for the UK.
"I'm optimistic about that. Obviously, we've got negotiations ahead. Those negotiations will take time, there will be some difficult moments, it will need some give and take.
"But I'm optimistic that we can achieve the deal that is right for the UK, because I actually think the deal that is right for the UK will also be right for the EU."
But privately the summit is unlikely to be hailed a success by Number 10, after her first address to the European Council was dismissed with a withering shrug by the president of the European Commission.
Asked how talks had gone with Mrs May, Jean-Claude Juncker shrugged his shoulders and spluttered "pffft".
"We had no special event with Theresa May yesterday," Mr Juncker said as he arrived at the summit this morning.
"She was explaining what her intentions are. I'll have lunch with her and then we will see what happens."
And Manfred Weber, the leader of the European People's Party bloc in the European Parliament, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "When somebody wants to leave a club, it's not really normal that such a member who wants to leave a club wants to decide about the future of this club.
“That is really creating a lot of anger, the behaviour of the British Government. It's about the long-term project of the European Union, and the Brits decided not to stay in."
The PM also told leaders directly that there was no going back on Brexit, but her words appeared to be totally ignored by Donald Tusk.
Immediately after dinner the European Council president told reporters he would be the "happiest one" if the UK reversed the decision to quit and stuck with the bloc for years to come.
"It's not our choice and if you ask me I would prefer 28 members not only for the next month, but also for the next years and decades,” he said.
"After the decision in the UK we have to respect the decision of the referendum. If it is reversible or not, this is in the British hands.
"I would be the happiest one if it is reversible but we now have to start our formal works."