EUROSCEPTIC MP Bernard Jenkin claims abiding by European Court of Justice rulings would be “completely unacceptable” following Brexit.

The Harwich and North Essex MP was one of the leading voices in leaving the EU and he was one of the original Maastricht rebels.

His comments come after an influential EU leader warned that European courts will continue to “dish out judgments” to Britain if the UK opts for a transitional deal after Brexit.

The comments from Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, whose government holds the presidency of the EU for the first half of this year, come after the British Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to take the UK out of the jurisdiction of the European Court.

The Maltese leader also made it clear any transition trade arrangements, which could last well into the 2020s, would see European institutions retain the upper hand.

Mr Jenkin fought back and suggested Malta was worried about losing out on trade with the UK.

He said: “All the trade deals the EU does with other countries are not adjudicated by the European Court of Justice.

“What you’ve got is a Maltese prime minister who is anxious to scoop for his tiny little island a sum of the spoils he believes will fall out of Brexit.

“Malta has a very substantial number of employees who are dependent on trade with the UK and far higher than we have dependent upon trade with Malta.

“These people are feeling vulnerable, we are in a very strong position, and we are not the demander in this negotiation.”

Mr Muscat said an “essential part” of transitional arrangements after Brexit would be the “governing institutions of that period”.

He said, according to the Times, “It is pretty clear to me the institutions should be the European institutions.

“So it is not a transition period where British institutions take over.

“It is a transition period where the European Court of Justice is still in charge of dishing out judgments.”

Malta’s finance minister Edward Scicluna said he believed the Prime Minister would “blink first” as pressure grew over exit negotiations.

Reports have suggested Mrs May will commit to pulling out of the single market if the EU fails to make concessions on the free movement of its citizens, although they have been dismissed as speculation.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is expected to rule this month on whether Mrs May has the authority to invoke Article 50 without the prior consent of Parliament.