Britain’s withdrawal agreement from the European Union is not up for renegotiation now Theresa May has stood down, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte said at his weekly news conference.

Asked if he thought that the agreement could be looked at again, Rutte said the problem facing Britain is not Theresa May, whom he described as courageous and trustworthy.

‘The problem,’ he said, ‘is the situation in which she had to work… the UK not wanting to stay as a member of the customs union, not wanting to stay a member of the internal market.

‘All those red lines made it almost impossible to come to something which could get a majority in the house of commons,’ the Dutch PM, who was a close ally of May during the negotiations, said.

In Britain there is speculation that EU leaders will now rethink the agreement with May out of the way.

Spoiler: yes they can https://t.co/zNkqUeNtsX

— Christoph Schmidt (@trouwschmidt) May 25, 2019