The UK’s approach to the next stage of Brexit negotiations seems to be based on “pure illusion”, Donald Tusk says.

The European Council president told a news conference in Brussels that the UK was still trying to “cherry pick” its future relationship with the EU.

Mr Tusk said he could only go on media reports of Brexit talks at the PM’s country retreat Chequers on Thursday.

Theresa May is set to deliver a key speech setting out British ambitions on Friday of next week.

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Mr Tusk, who is due to meet the PM the day before, said media reports suggested that the “cake philosophy is still alive” in the UK.

He added: “If the media reports are correct I am afraid that the UK position today is based on pure illusion.”

He went on to reject – as he has done before – any notion of the UK “cherry picking” aspects of its future relationship with the EU or being able to join a “single market a la carte”.

The BBC understands that the 11 senior ministers at Chequers made a breakthrough on so-called “managed divergence”, where the UK could select EU rules to stick to post-Brexit.