麻豆社

Now Article 50 has been triggered by the UK, the EU is considering its formal response to Britain's notification that it is leaving the bloc.

Lord Patten, who used to be the chairman of the Conservative party and also the EU Commissioner for External Relations, said that since the deal was now in the hands of EU leaders "Brussels has taken back control".

Speaking on the Radio 4's World at One programme, Lord Patten - a Europhile - argued that the UK was much more dependent on the EU than vice versa and so without a decent deal, where the European Union would "catch a cold", the UK would "catch pneumonia".

(Photo: Lord Patten. Credit: Getty Images)