Margaret Thatcher earned her reputation as a ferocious negotiator by 'handbagging' EU leaders at a summit in 1984.
And Theresa May looked determined to follow in the Tory heroine's footsteps as she tore into Jean-Claude Juncker in the full glare of TV cameras today.
The PM - wielding her handbag - was seen locked in an extraordinary standoff with the EU commission chief on the second day of a tense gathering in Brussels.
Although the sound was switched off, TV cameras caught the pair exchanging heated words for at least a minute.
Lipreaders said the exchange began with Mrs May saying: ''What did you call me? You called me nebulous.'
Mr Juncker seemingly failed to understand, and asked her to repeat herself.
Mrs May then spelled out the word 'nebulous' slowly.
As the camera moved around behind them a clearly frustrated Mrs May said: ''Nebulous, yes you did.''
But Mr Juncker says: 'No, I didn't, I didn't.'
During Mrs May's tirade Mr Juncker, who had one hand on Mrs May's arm, looked to be trying to soothe her anger by denying making the jibe.
But body language experts said Mrs May successfully disrupted Mr Juncker's usual 'Godfather' demeanour and put him on the back foot.
The clash could garner Mrs May some much needed points with Tory Eurosceptics and the DUP at home, as she struggles to find a way through the Parliamentary impasse over Brexit.
They have been urging her to show she won't 'roll over' as the EU turns up the heat by dismissing calls for 'legally binding' guarantees that the UK will not be stuck in the Irish border 'backstop' for ever.
Mrs May was praised for standing up to the 'unreasonable and bizarre behaviour' of Mr Juncker by Simon Hart, a leader of the 100-strong Brexit Delivery Group of moderate Tories.
He told MailOnline: 'It also shows it wouldn't really matter who is PM - they would still be treated with disdain.'
The PM - wielding her handbag - was seen locked in a tense standoff with the EU commission chief as the second day of the summit gets under way in Brussels
Although the sound was switched off, TV cameras caught Mrs May and Mr Juncker exchanging what looked to be heated words for at least a minute
Theresa May was grim-faced at the EU summit venue in Brussels today as she endured another bruising round of talks
Mrs May held bilateral talks with Emmanuel Macron (left) at the summit. Dutch PM Mark Rutte (right) is an ally of the PM, but has also taken a tough line on Brexit
As the TV shot backed away from the confrontation, Dutch PM Mark Rutte came over, apparently in an effort to defuse the situation.
Behaviour experts Judi James told MailOnline: 'Caught in a moment with Junker his body language suggests a conciliatory sense of concern while May does seem from her stern facial expression, head tilt and eye contact to be having quite a firm word in the style of a complaint,'
The face-off evoked memories of Mrs Thatcher's 'handbagging' when she secured Britain's rebate on budget contributions in 1984.
Before Mrs Thatcher confronted fellow leaders at the former French royal palace at Fontainebleau, the UK had far less favourable contribution terms than other member states.
Britain was receiving around £1 in spending from the EU for every £2 it pumped into the bloc's coffers.
But the then-PM was able to narrow the gap by securing a 'rebate' that closed around two thirds of the gap.
Francois Mitterand, the French president at the time, memorably described Mrs Thatcher as having the 'eyes of Caligula and the lips of Marilyn Monroe'.
The showdown with Mr Juncker came after Mrs May's latest appeal for 'legally binding' assurances over the Irish border backstop to save her Brexit deal fell flat.
France and Ireland are said to be spearheading the resistance to more concessions at a stormy Brussels summit - even torpedoing calls for another gathering next month to try to thrash out a way forward.
The bloc has also pledged to ramp up preparations for the UK crashing out - with threats to charge British holidaymakers £6 to visit the continent if there is no deal.
At her own press conference at the close of the summit today, Mrs Mrs May said she had been 'crystal clear' with leaders what she needed to win support for the Brexit deal at home.
'I had a robust discussion with Jean-Claude Juncker,' she said.
'I think that's the sort of discussion you're able to have when you have developed a working relationship and you work well together.
Thatcher's 1984 'handbag' moment is still totemic for Brexiteers
The PM secured her reputation as a fierce negotiator by demanding 'our money back' from what was then the European Community
Margaret Thatcher's 1984 'handbagging' of the EU is still a totemic moment for Eurosceptics.
The PM secured her reputation as a fierce negotiator by demanding 'our money back' from what was then the European Community.
Before she confronted fellow leaders at the former French royal palace at Fontainebleau, the UK had far less favourable contribution terms than other member states.
Britain was receiving around £1 in spending from the EU for every £2 it pumped into the bloc's coffers.
But Mrs Thatcher was able to narrow the gap by securing a 'rebate' that closed around two thirds of the gap.
Francois Mitterand, the French president at the time, memorably described Mrs Thatcher as having the 'eyes of Caligula and the lips of Marilyn Monroe'.
Some claim it was the biggest concession ever made by the EU to a member state - although others argue that Mrs May still did not get everything she wanted.
'And what came out of that was his clarity that actually he'd been talking - when he used that particular phrase - he'd been talking about a general level of debate.'
In a ten minute pitch at the summit dinner in Brussels last night, Mrs May begged the other 27 leaders to guarantee that a new trade deal is in place by 2021 – so the contentious arrangements to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland the Republic will never be triggered.
But after kicking the PM out so they could consider the situation in private, Mr Juncker emerged to complain that Britain's position was 'nebulous and imprecise'.
He added: 'We don't want the UK to think there can be any form of renegotiation, that is crystal clear. We can add clarifications but no real changes.
'There will be no legally binding obligations imposed on the withdrawal treaty.'
The EU's hardball approach appears to leave Mrs May with nowhere to turn, just weeks before she must stage a critical showdown in Parliament.
Mrs May was forced to promise she would secure 'legally binding' assurances in order to survive a Tory leadership coup this week - as well as publicly admitting that she will not lead the party into the 2022 general election.
She asked EU counterparts to help her out last night, saying a package of assurances around the backstop could 'change the dynamic' at Westminster.
She ended with a highly personal appeal to EU leaders to put their trust in her and give her the political room for manoeuvre she needs.
Urging them to 'hold nothing in reserve' in helping rescue her deal, she highlighted the torrid political situation at home.
'I hope I have shown you can trust me to do what is right, not always what is easy, however difficult that might be for me politically,' Mrs May said.
However, delivering a statement on behalf of the EU's 27 national leaders afterwards, European Council President Donald Tusk warned the Withdrawal Agreement was 'not open for renegotiation' - and said they are stepping up preparations for a 'no deal' scenario come March.
The conclusions were even tougher against the UK than a draft that had been leaked earlier in the week - suggesting Mrs May's efforts had sent the process into reverse.
Arriving at the summit this morning, EU leaders still were not holding back with their attacks on the UK.
Irish PM Leo Varadkar expressed 'satisfaction' with the tough line taken by the bloc, and said the best Mrs May could hope for was 'clarifications and explanations'.
'We can discuss what form that akes but what we won't be doing as a European Union is renegotiating,' he said.
Luxembourg's Xavier Bettel said 'for internal political reasons some people try to gamble the relations between the EU and the UK for the future'.
'It's bad. This is the best possible deal,' he said. 'Theresa May is clear. Westminster is not clear. The problem is the MPs in London.'
Belgium's prime minister Charles Michel said there was 'gigantic doubt' about whether Mrs May will be 'able to honor the engagement that was undertaken'.
'We are going to be sure to prepare for all hypotheses, including the hypothesis of a `no deal,' he said.
Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said he does not now expect a special Brexit summit in January to agree a way forward.
He said they now need the British Parliament to back the deal agreed with Mrs May.
'We need a positive vote from the British Parliament, not a summit,' he said.
'We want a vote. We need a vote from the British Parliament to continue.
'We very much hope this will be a positive vote. We count on that.'
But the EU's stance provoked fury from Brexiteers, while DUP leader Arlene Foster insisted Mrs May must 'stand up' to her counterparts rather than 'roll over as has happened previously'.
Mrs Foster - whose 10 MPs are propping the Tories up in power - said: 'The Prime Minister has promised to get legally binding changes.
'The reaction by the EU is unsurprising. They are doing what they always do. The key question is whether the PM will stand up to them or whether she will roll over as has happened previously.'
Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer said Mrs May had failed to achieve 'meaningful changes' and called for a vote on her deal before Christmas.
European Council President Donald Tusk (pictured right at the summit today) also warned that the Withdrawal Agreement is 'not open for renegotiation'
Irish PM Leo Varadkar (pictured today) expressed 'satisfaction' with the tough line taken by the bloc, and said the best Mrs May could hope for was 'clarifications and explanations'
Angela Merkel (pictured left with Hungarian PM Viktor Orban today) is still a key powerbroker in the EU
The intense Brexit wrangling is taking place at the summit at the EU council's headquarters in Brussels today
He said: 'We cannot go on like this. The Prime Minister should reinstate the vote on her deal next week and let Parliament take back control.'
But Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington defended Mrs May's handling of the talks, telling Today: 'Anybody who has heard Theresa May in debate, anybody who has heard her around the Cabinet table, knows there is a very clear plan.'
He described the talks as 'a welcome first step that was the removal of uncertainty' over the EU's intentions, because it had shown it wanted a 'speedy UK trade deal' that would remove the need for the backstop in the first place.
The Brexit deal was finally struck last month after nearly two years of tortuous negotiations, with Mrs May forcing it through Cabinet at the cost of a series of resignations, and pledging to put it to MPs this week.
But the vote was chaotically shelved when it became clear the government was on track for a catastrophic defeat, in the face of opposition from Tory Brexiteers and Remainers, the DUP, Labour, the SNP and the Lib Dems.
In a desperate bid to salvage the situation, she vowed to go back to Brussels for more 'legally binding' assurances on the Irish border backstop.
Mrs May is thought to have been hoping for a legal addendum to the Withdrawal Agreement that would set a start date for the future relationship between the EU27, or some other binding commitment to ensure the backstop is temporary.
But the response of the EU was to delete key parts of the draft summit conclusions that might have given the UK a glimmer of hope.
EU council president Donald Tusk said: 'Prime Minister May informed the leaders about the difficulties with ratifying the deal in London and asked for further assurances that would at least in her view unlock the ratification process in the House of Commons...
'The Union stands by this agreement and intends to proceed with its ratification. It is not open for renegotiation,' Tusk concluded.
There was said to have been sympathy for Mrs May inside the leaders dinner after her ordeal yesterday, but sources inside the dinner said it was made clear that not much would be expected from today's talks.
As the summit began yesterday, leaders including Angela Merkel and Holland's Mark Rutte held out an olive branch by speaking of their 'admiration' for the PM.
Leaked draft conclusions appeared to offer a glimmer of hope by emphasising that the Irish border backstop was an 'insurance policy' and only intended to be 'temporary' if it comes into force.
Former Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso also appealed for EU leaders to help Mrs May - warning a Brexit had to be concluded without 'resentment'.
But any optimism quickly evaporated as leaders arrived at the summit with an uncompromising message, insisting that the legal text of the Withdrawal Agreement cannot be reopened.
Mrs Merkel said Mrs May's victory in the confidence vote was 'pleasing', but added: 'I do not see that this Withdrawal Agreement can be changed.'
While acclaiming Mrs May in English as he spoke to reporters in Brussels today, Mr Rutte was less helpful when he addressed Dutch journalists in his own language.
'If anyone in the Netherlands thinks Nexit is a good idea, look at England and see the enormous damage it does,' he said.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz suggested another summit could be convened in January to try and sign off more assurances, but said it was hard to know what the EU should give to May because 'not all the arguments of Brexit supporters are rational'.
And Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite put it more bluntly. 'Brexit Christmas wish: finally decide what you really want and Santa will deliver,' she said on Twitter in posting a picture of a chocolate Christmas tree.
As she arrived at the summit, Mrs May publicly conceded for the first time that the Brexit crisis will cut short her stay in Downing Street, saying although in her 'heart' she wants to fight on, she will need to quit before the next general election.
'I think it is right that the party feels that it would prefer to go into that election with a new leader,' she said.
Mrs Merkel today again flatly dismissed the prospect of renegotiating the Withdrawal Agreement, while the Finnish PM warned the best she can hope for is 'political' assurances.
'We can discuss whether there should be additional assurances, but here the 27 member states will act very much in common and make their interests very clear.
'This is always in the spirit that we will have very, very good relations with the UK after it has departed from the European Union.'
French president Emmanuel Macron said there could be a 'political discussion' but added ominously: 'One cannot reopen a legal agreement.'
Mr Rutte was effusive in his praise of Mrs May's 'tenacity'. 'I feel respect. She is an able leader. I admire her tenacity and resilience. She's a great leader. And if you saw the Labour people laughing at her when she said 'I listened', I felt this was not very British,' he said.
'She stood there and kept her composure and won this fight within her party. I have the highest admiration for her.'
Finnish PM Juha Sipila warned: 'Legally binding will be a little bit difficult.
'But we all want to help her first of all, and then our goal is that the new relationship will be before the backstop.
'So I think, at the political level, we can (offer assurances). That's our primary goal. And let's see if we can find something from the legal side also, but it's open still.'
A Commons vote on the PM's Brexit deal was pulled at the last moment this week to avoid a catastrophic defeat.
Trade Secretary Liam Fox has put down a clear marker by warning it may never be put to a Parliamentary vote unless changes are made.
In a sign of the simmering divisions, other ministers including Philip Hammond, Amber Rudd, David Gauke and Greg Clark are urging an early vote on the package - and then if it is defeated a series of Commons votes on different options for how to move forward.
Mrs May also played down hopes of any shift soon, saying: 'I don't expect an immediate breakthrough, but what I do hope is that we can start to work as quickly as possible on the assurances that are necessary.'
'Me hoping nobody asks me what Nebulous means #IHaveNoIdea': Baffled Twitter users rush to look up the meaning behind Jean-Claude Juncker's jibe at Theresa May
Theresa May looked angry today following tense meetings with fellow EU leaders after she accused Commission President Jean-Claude Junker of calling her nebulous.
Twitter users rejoiced after lip readers reported the cutting barb allegedly used by Mr Junker to describe Mrs May's Brexit demands.
Mrs May, who regularly prefaces her statements with the words 'let me be clear', was offended by suggestions that he was hazy and imprecise when ventilating her Brexit strategy.
Theresa May was clearly annoyed when she confronted European Commission president Jean-Claude Junker, pictured, during a meeting in Brussels earlier today over suggestions the former Luxembourg PM described Mrs May as 'nebulous'
Twitter today exploded over allegations the EU Commission President Dean Claude Junker described Theresa May as acting in a nebulous manner. Mrs Junker strongly denied the claims during a meeting in Brussels eariler otoday
Social media fans decided to have some fun this afternoon at Mrs May's expense.
Theresa May was in Brussels to meet EU leader in the hope they would alter the Withdrawal agreement she had previously agreed with them as it is unlikely she will have enough support to push it through Westminster
One Twitter user claimed it was the best insult since Kim Jong-un described US president Donald Trump, while a second person suggested the word could be used as a playground insult by enterprising bullies next week
The PM - wielding her handbag - was seen locked in an extraordinary standoff with the EU commission chief on the second day of a tense gathering in Brussels.
Although the sound was switched off, TV cameras caught the pair exchanging heated words for at least a minute.
According to lipreaders, Mrs May took the Eurocrat to task for comments he delivered to journalists in the early hours of this morning, saying: 'You called me nebulous. Yes you did!'
Mr Juncker, who had one hand on Mrs May's arm, looked to be trying to soothe her anger by denying making the jibe.
But body language experts said Mrs May successfully disrupted Mr Juncker's usual 'Godfather' demeanour and put him on the back foot.
Some Twitter users admitted the former Luxembourg's knowledge of the English language exceeded their own
However, some clearly had an understanding as to the meaning of the word with this Tellytubby-esque effort
Some Twitter users - even Larry the Downing Street cat - picked up on the scandal, while others suggested the use of the word Neubulous was one of the kinder descriptions used to define the PM
Twitter users were very critical of Mrs May's handling of the Brexit process suggesting the use of nebulous is justified
Pro Brexit supporters have been surprised by the unit of the European Union in keeping a coherent message during talks
The clash could garner Mrs May some much needed points with Tory Eurosceptics and the DUP at home, as she struggles to find a way through the Parliamentary impasse over Brexit.
They have been urging her to show she won't 'roll over' as the EU turns up the heat by dismissing calls for 'legally binding' guarantees that the UK will not be stuck in the Irish border 'backstop' for ever.
In a press conference late last night - and wearing a green tie in solidarity with Ireland - Mr Juncker said: 'It is the UK leaving the EU. Our UK friends need to say what they want, instead of asking us to say what we want. I find it uncomfortable.'
'So we would like, within a few weeks, our UK friends to set out their expectations for us because this debate is sometimes nebulous and imprecise and I would like clarifications.'
One Liverpool fan admitted that Jean-Claude Junker may have increased his knowledge of the English language today
It is unlikely Theresa May will be raising a glass tonight like Patsy in Absolutely Fabulous, played by Joanna Lumley
Someone decided to dig out the meme of Guy Goma, a cab driver accidentally interviewed on BBC News
Google showed that searches for nebulous have rocketed as a result of the heated row in Brussels
The Prime Minister hoped that European leaders would provide her with a lifeline and did not expect a hostile reception
The European Union has ruled out re-opening the withdrawal agreement with the UK
Theresa May's domestic critics have slammed the PM for her failure to change the terms of her withdrawal agreement
https://textbacklinkexchanges.com/category/the-sun-world/
https://textbacklinkexchanges.com/you-called-me-nebulous-the-moment-pm-confronted-juncker-in-brussels/
News Pictures 'You called me nebulous!' The moment PM confronted Juncker in Brussels
You don’t have to pack away your bikini just because you’re the wrong side of 20. These body-beautiful stars reveal their secrets to staying in shape and prove you can smoulder in a two-piece, whatever your age. Read on and be bikini inspired!
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Hayden Panettiere
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Hayden says: “I don’t have a model’s body, but I’m not one of those crazy girls who thinks that they’re fat. I’m OK with what I have.”
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kim cattrall
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SATC star Kim swears by gym sessions with Russian kettle bells (traditional cast-iron weights) and the South Beach Diet to give her the body she wants. To avoid overeating, Kim has a radical diet trick – squirting lemon juice on her leftovers – so she won’t carry on picking.
Kim says: “I am no super-thin Hollywood actress. I am built for men who like women to look like women.”
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2018/12/14/10/7421028-6495225-image-a-24_1544783405590.jpg
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