David Davis says EU Brexit negotiator meeting 'a good start'

Brexit Secretary David Davis has described his meeting with the European Parliament's chief negotiator Guy Verhofstadt as a "good start".

Although they could not negotiate yet, he said their discussions had been able to cover structures and how both sides propose to approach the Brexit talks.

He said a deal was possible that was in the interests of the EU and the UK.

Mr Verhofstadt said he wanted an exit deal completed before the next European Parliament elections in 2019.

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Ahead of their talks the two men laughed off an apparent misunderstanding over Mr Davis's comment - "get thee behind me Satan" - in September when answering a Commons committee question about Mr Verhofstadt.

Mr Verhofstadt was referring to that when he said he was looking forward to a "hell of a conversation".

But ahead of the meeting Mr Davis said his Satan reference was to the person trying to tempt him to comment on Mr Verhofstadt, rather than directed at the former Belgian prime minister.

The European Parliament has to vote on, and could therefore veto, both the terms of the UK's exit and the even bigger subsequent deal to establish Britain's future relationship with the EU.

After the meeting Mr Davis called Mr Verhofstadt "a very nice man" and said that although they could not go into the details of negotiations they could lay the ground work for how the process might work.

David Davis, right, explains the Satan reference with Guy Verhofstadt

BBC Europe correspondent Damian Grammaticas said that how the two men get on could play an important role in the success of the Brexit negotiations - which are due to begin after Theresa May triggers the official two-year process in March.

The heart of the negotiations is likely to be the balance between UK firms being able to trade freely within the European single market, and the UK's desire to end the right of all EU citizens to live and work in the UK.

Manfred Weber, leader of the EPP, the largest grouping in the European Parliament, also had talks with Mr Davis and said that the free movement of people was non-negotiable.

He said: "We need to take into account the interests of 450 million European citizens... What we really expect are clear proposals.

"Today, in my talk with David Davis, unfortunately I haven't really heard anything new. I haven't really heard how the British government want to tackle Brexit or what Brexit really means."

But Mr Davis said: "Our view is that we can get an outcome which will be in the interests of the European Union and in the interests of Britain and which will meet the requirements of the referendum. All of those are possible. That's what the negotiations are about."

Mr Verhofstadt said: "In the meeting I repeated what are, for us, essential key points. That is, that... these negotiations, in the interest of everybody, need to be concluded before the European elections.

"We cannot imagine, or at least it would be very strange, if the UK have to organise elections for the UK parliament after the outcome of the Brexit vote. And it gives us the possibility of a fresh and new start with new people."