UK government close to giving up on Brexit deal - report

The government is understood to be abandoning hopes of striking a post-Brexit trade deal in time to meet Boris Johnson’s July deadline, it was claimed on Wednesday.

According to The Telegraph, which quoted unnamed sources only, the government is now working on the premise that current trade talks between the UK and European Union, which started on Monday and are scheduled to end on Thursday, will not result in a deal.

If the two sides cannot agree terms, the UK will have to trade with the EU under WTO terms when the transition period ends on 31 December.

According to The Telegraph, the negotiations have become deadlocked on various core areas, including fishing rights and the role of the European Court of Justice.

The Telegraph said the government was not prepared to move on fishing rights. It quoted a member of the negotiating team as saying: "No trade deal has to be the working assumption, because that’s what we have to prepare for."

The newspaper added that some in government believed a deal could still be struck later in the year, but it would be a "basic deal, not a phenomenal deal".

The UK formerly left the EU on 31 January, but under the 11-month transition agreement, it will remain in the customs union and single market until 31 December, meaning trade is not subject to increased bureaucracy or charges. Under World Trade Organisation rules, tariffs will be imposed and extra checks required.