Britain upsets EU after forging close bond with old pal France

The Anglo-Franco relationship appears to be stronger than ever after both Theresa May and Emmanuel Macron emphasised their commitment to tackle international security issues together at a Sandhurst summit in January.

Since their face-to-face meeting in January, Mrs May has called on Mr Macron to back her in a series of strikes - including one on Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles - and the expulsion of Russian spies from the UK following the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury.

A UK Government source told Politico: “One of the things Macron has always been very keen on since they had their first meeting was to focus the relationship on security and defence.

“Salisbury and Syria have given more substance to that — he has made it play out in practice.”

British Government officials believe that the partnership with France is good amidst Brexit negotiations, as it shows that the two nations will continue to share security and military details after March 2019.

However, some in the EU, are not pleased at the friendship, as they want to “punish” Britain for leaving and think it’s only right the UK is left out in the cold after leaving the EU.

Last year, Brexit Secretary David Davis urged the European Union not to punish the UK over the divorce.

He told The Andrew Marr show: “We cannot have a circumstance when the other side says they are going to punish you, so if that happens then there's a walk away and we have to plan for that.”

Mrs May, however, recently made the decision to join France and the US in launching airstrikes against Syria after Bashar al-Assad's Government was alleged to have carried out a chemical weapon attack which killed 70 people.

She faced a chorus of disapproval from opposition MPs for not seeking parliamentary approval or a United Nations (UN) resolution for the air strikes.

But she defended her decision not to recall Parliament, suggesting the “security” of the operation could have been compromised.

She said: “The speed with which we acted was essential in co-operating with our partners to alleviate further humanitarian suffering and to maintain the vital security of our operations.”

However, while she did not inform her own MPs, she did manage to talk with Mr Macron twice ahead of the planned action. And officials in London and Paris also spoke “multiple times a day” and shared top secret documents.

The budding Anglo-Franco alliance could also upset German leader Angela Merkel, who has been slow to join in on Mr Macron's eurozone reforms because she was struggling to put together a Government coalition for several months.

And improved Anglo-Franco relations may even topple the budding bromance between Mr Macron and the United States president Donald Trump.

Earlier this year, Mr Macron made it clear that the UK and France are “making a new tapestry together”.

The French president made his first visit to Britain since entering the Elysee Palace - to the Royal Military Academy.

The choice of venue was appropriate as the countries committed to closer defence and security co-operation between “Europe’s two foremost military powers.”