The incoming head of the European Commission has criticised British prime minister Boris Johnson for failing to meet his ‘do or die’ pledge to leave the EU by October 31st, by requesting the “rapid” nomination of a British candidate to join her Brussels top team.

Ursula von der Leyen has written to the prime minister asking him to propose a British candidate or candidates for EU commissioner “rapidly, in the shortest time possible”. 

von der Leyen has called on the UK to propose female candidates, as part of her bid to have a gender-balanced commission, ruling out the  UK’s current commissioner, Sir Julian King.