Boris Johnson has said there is a “strong possibility” that he will fail to secure a post-Brexit trade deal – with Cabinet agreeing that the current deal on offer would keep the country “locked in the EU’s regulatory orbit” and is “really not, at the moment, right for the UK”.
Downing Street will begin stepping up its no-deal preparations, but refused to confirm whether it will agree to contingency plans unveiled by Brussels earlier on Thursday, saying only that it would “look closely” at the proposals.
The prime minister’s spokesperson did, however, signal that he would not accept the fisheries proposal put forward by the European Commission, which would give it continued access to UK waters for another 12 months. He told reporters the PM would not “accept arrangements … which are incompatible with our status as an independent coastal state”.
