London's benchmark FTSE 100 index shed 0.8 percent to 6,968.85 points, as traders also weighed  fresh trouble for the pound on Brexit strains and renewed falls for oil prices.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 retreated 1.2 percent to 11,204.32 points and the Paris CAC 40 lost 1.0 percent to 4,963.18.