Boris Johnson tells UK to get ready for a ‘no deal’ Brexit after no breakthrough in negotiations with EU

Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has said the United Kingdom must prepare for a ‘no deal’ Brexit after negotiations with the European Union failed to reach an agreement in the last few days.
Andrew Quinn
By Andrew Quinn
Published 16th Oct 2020, 12:41 BST
Screengrab taken from handout video issued by Downing Street of Minister Boris Johnson at 10 Downing Street, London, giving a statement on post-Brexit trade talks.Screengrab taken from handout video issued by Downing Street of Minister Boris Johnson at 10 Downing Street, London, giving a statement on post-Brexit trade talks.
Screengrab taken from handout video issued by Downing Street of Minister Boris Johnson at 10 Downing Street, London, giving a statement on post-Brexit trade talks.

Speaking to broadcasters on Friday morning, he said: “From the outset we were totally clear that we wanted nothing more complicated than a Canada-style relationship based on friendship and free trade.

“To judge by the latest EU summit in Brussels, that won’t work for our EU partners.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“They want the continued ability to control our legislative freedom, our fisheries in a way that is completely unacceptable to an independent country.”

The prime minister added: “And since we have only 10 weeks until the end of the transition period on January 1, I have to make judgment about the likely outcome and get us ready.

“And given that they have refused to negotiate seriously for much of the last few months and given that this summit appears explicitly to rule out a Canada-style deal, I’ve concluded that we should get ready for January 1 with arrangements that are more like Australia’s based on simple principles of global free trade.”

Related topics:BrexitBoris JohnsonPrime MinisterCanadaAustralia

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.