Prime Minister Theresa May risks signing up to the very worst Brexit deal for Britain, her former chief of staff has said.
Nick Timothy said the leader has been undermined in the process and Britain must toughen up.
Writing for the Daily Telegraph, he added that the time for playing nice and being exploited is over.
The intervention of Mr Timothy, who left his position in the wake of last years snap general election, comes as Mrs May heads to Brussels for a European Union summit.
He wrote: Britains negotiating position is far from hopeless. Member states are divided about what the Brexit deal should say about security and trade. Almost all, in their different ways, want a sensible agreement.
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But the time for playing nice and being exploited is over. Of course we must negotiate in good faith. And we will need to compromise.
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The time for sincere co-operation with a partner that does not want to sincerely co-operate is over: we must toughen up.
Theresa May will seek to rally European Union leaders to maintain a strong line against Russia at the summit in Brussels.
The Prime Minister will also update EU counterparts on Brexit, but the response to the migrant crisis is set to overshadow other topics during the meeting.
On Russia, Mrs May hopes the leaders of the 28 EU countries will back the continuation of sanctions imposed following the annexation of Crimea.
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But she will also stress the need for further action, including measures to tackle propaganda and disinformation spread by Moscow.
She will also call for action to make sure suspected spies expelled by the UK and its allies in response to the Salisbury nerve agent attack cannot simply relocate to other EU countries.
At the first working session of the summit she is expected to tell her counterparts: Russia and other actors seem to be trying to sow disunity, destabilise our democracies and test our resolve.
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We must adapt our current defences to the new normal and take responsibility for protecting international norms and institutions.
In an effort to tackle cyber attacks backed by Russia and other states, she will call on EU countries to work together to attribute blame and co-ordinate responses.
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