New | British PM May says no way out of Brexit as rift with EU chiefs flare

Theresa May insisted that Britain’s vote to leave the European Union must be honoured, as the dividing lines between the UK and the rest of the bloc hardened at her first leaders’ summit in Brussels.

European Council President Donald Tusk told the British leader that the other 27 member states will increasingly work separately, an official with knowledge of the closed-door session said. Leaders from Europe’s centre-right alliance voiced concerns that the UK is trying to sow division among EU states at their own private talks before the summit, according to another official.

May insisted the UK should continue to play a “full role” in EU matters until the split is finalised, while damping any speculation that the decision might be reversed.

“I’m here with a very clear message, the UK’s leaving the EU,” May told reporters Thursday.

May’s message to the 27 other EU member states, at a working dinner during the two-day summit, will be her strongest indication yet that she isn’t seeking a close relationship between the UK and the EU after Brexit, a British official said. That approach is already raising the hackles of some other European leaders.