THERESA May has given up on the idea of having her Brexit cake and eating it, European Council President Donald Tusk has said.

Tusk, who was in No 10 yesterday for talks with the Prime Minister, welcomed the more “realistic” approach being shown to negotiations with the EU by Britain.

Last week May used a speech in Florence to outline her desire for Britain to be given a two-year transition deal, effectively putting Brexit off until 2021.

Before the meeting, as the two posed for photographs, May told Tusk her Italian speech meant “things have moved on in terms of the discussions we’ve been having”.

She added: “By being creative in the ways we approach these issues, we can find solutions that work both for the remaining [EU] 27 but also for the UK and maintain that cooperation and partnership between the UK and the EU.”

She also said that the two would “be able to discuss what I set out last week in Florence – that hope for a deep and special partnership that we want to create with the European Union when we leave”.

May said she was also now “unconditionally committed to maintaining Europe’s security and want[ed] to have a good security partnership as well”.

Last September Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, and possible leadership challenger to May, told a daily newspaper that Brexit negotiations would see Britain getting control over immigration as well as continuing open trade with the EU.

He told the paper: “Our policy is having our cake and eating it. We are Pro-secco but by no means anti-pasto.”

Speaking after he met with the Tory leader, Tusk took a swipe at Johnson, telling reporters: “I feel cautiously optimistic about the constructive and more realistic tone in the Prime Minister’s speech in Florence and of our discussion today.

“This shows that the philosophy of having a cake and eating it, is finally at an end ... at least I hope so. That’s good news.”

However, he said there had not yet been enough progress on talks to start working on a trade deal.

“I feel now we will discuss our future relations with the UK once there is so-called sufficient progress.

“The two sides are working and we will work hard at it.

“But if you ask me, and if today member states ask me, I would say there is no sufficient progress yet. But we will work.”

After the talks a Downing Street spokesman said May and Tusk had “welcomed the good progress” that has been made on citizens’ rights in the negotiations.

The spokesman said: “At the end of the meeting, the PM said her Florence speech had been intended to create momentum in the ongoing talks. She said it was important for EU negotiators to now respond in the same spirit.”

As the two met, there were reports Downing Street had been “preparing the ground” in case Johnson suddenly resigns.

Tory MPs have been receiving calls from the whips’ office, as the leadership assesses what level of support there is in the party for Johnson, and how successful any challenge he mounts against the weak and damaged May would be.

No 10 has been told that Johnson has “minimal support” and Leave-supporting MPs are among the angriest at the old Etonian.

Many of them believe he is destabilising the Government and could put Brexit in jeopardy.

Meanwhile, in Brussels, where the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier and Brexit Secretary David Davis are in their fourth round of talks, there appears to be little further movement towards a breakthrough

On Monday, Barnier reaffirmed that the EU could not accept the Prime Minister’s wish for a transition period until the UK had settled divorce terms.

Speaking to reporters after briefing EU ministers on the state of the negotiations, Barnier said: “For me, discussing a potential period of transition can be done only if we have found an agreement on an orderly withdrawal.”

There is also disagreement on what the transition should look like, with the EU adamant that all laws and treaty provisions remain in force.