Theresa May to make mystery 'important intervention' that could delay Brexit talks, European Parliament negotiator reveals

Guy Verhofstadt claims an intervention by the Prime Minister could delay next round of Brexit negotiations

Verhofstadt said that the next round of talks could be pushed back to the final week of September (Getty)

Brexit talks could be delayed due to an “important intervention” from Theresa May, the European Parliament’s lead negotiator has said.

Guy Verhofstadt said that the next round of crunch talks with Brussels could be pushed back to the final week of September to accommodate an intervention from the Prime Minister on 21 September.

It comes as the Government indicated it was ready to “intensify” negotiations as talks appeared to have stalled after EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier accused the UK of pursuing an “impossible deal”.

Referring to the timetable for talks, Mr Verhofstadt told the European Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs: “Possibly the next round of negotiation will be the last week of September because apparently there will be an important intervention by the British Prime Minister in the coming days, foreseen on 21 September.”

UK officials are reportedly keen to step up the negotiations to a rolling week-by-week basis, rather than one round of talks a months, until a breakthrough can be made.

A government source refused to be drawn on the timing of the talks but indicated that Mrs May was preparing to speak out about the Brexit negotiations.

The source said: “Building on the papers that the UK has published over the summer, yes you can expect the Prime Minister to want to set out what we think this means about the relationship with the EU we are seeking.

“No firm date or venue has been set for a speech and as the Prime Minister’s spokeswoman set out today, we are keen to press on with the negotiations. We think this is in everyone’s best interests.”