Ms von der Leyen, herself a former student at the LSE, had earlier addressed a packed event held at the Sheikh Zayed Theatre in the LSE’s New Academic Building in Holborn, during which she voiced doubts about whether a free trade agreement can be finalised by December 31, the deadline which Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to hit. After her talk, which was being watched by the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, Ms von der Leyen briefly chatted with demonstrators waving EU flags and posed for pictures before she and Mr Barnier were driven away in a Limousine.
As she did so, the pro-EU group chanted “Europe Forever”, making their ongoing opposition to Brexit plain.
James Sheeran, who had come down from Newcastle for Ms von der Leyen’s talk, together with his wife Janet, told Express.co.uk: “There’s far too much to discuss and to settle in the few months that we’ve got.
“Brexit will never be a fait accompli to be perfectly honest with you because we will never be able to cut ourselves off from Europe.
“She made it clear that if we want to do business with Europe there has to be a level playing field.
“That will mean we will need to keep very close alignment with our statutes.
“And it does mean that we will not be able to have chlorinated chicken from the USA because of the level playing field.
READ MORE: Von der Leyen lashes out at Boris Johnson Brexit plan
Referring to Ms von der Leyen’s comments about the time frame involved in thrashing out a trade deal, Mr Sheeran added: “What she was saying as I heard it that we will pick up a few things that we could sort out.
“So hopefully we will be able to sort out the important things like citizens’ rights and the way we are treating non-European British.”
Phil Jones, from Cardiff, said he was in London to campaign for a “democratic, tolerant Europe”.
He added: “Cooperation between countries according to the rule of law is good idea and it is our public duty to support that.
Mr Jones was also unconcerned by Ms von der Leyen’s comments about the need for cooperation between European nations when it came to security issues, which some have interpreted as paving the way for a European army.
He suggested she was referring to Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), which is part of the EU’s security and defence policy (CSDP).
He explained: “PESCO is voluntary, and national sovereignty is not affected.”
During her talk, Ms von der Leyen said prioritisation would be required in Britain and the European Union’s upcoming post-Brexit trade talks due to the tight end of year deadline.
She added: “The transition time is very, very tight.
“So it is basically impossible to negotiate all that I have been mentioning so we will have to prioritise.”