Sunak rejects von der Leyen claim that UK could rejoin EU

Rishi Sunak has rejected the suggestion that Brexit could be in peril after Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, claimed that the UK could be on a path to rejoining the EU.

- Lisa O’Carroll , Pippa Crerar

At an event in Brussels on Tuesday night, von der Leyen admitted that European leaders had "goofed up" over the departure of Britain from the bloc and suggested the younger generation could "fix" it.

Asked if the UK could ever rejoin the EU, she replied: "I must say, I keep telling my children: 'You have to fix it. We goofed it up, you have to fix it. So I think here too, the direction of travel - my personal opinion - is clear."

However, Sunak's official spokesperson replied that the British prime minister did not believe that Brexit was in peril. He told reporters at Westminster: "It's through our Brexit freedoms that we are, right now, considering how to further strengthen our migration system.