Brexit news latest – France leads charge for No Deal to try to shock Britain as PM ‘absolutely committed’ to trade deal

EXPLAINER: WHAT IS A NO DEAL BREXIT?

The UK and EU are locked in trade talks over what the future relationship will look like.

There are only 28 days until the end of the transition period and a deal is yet to be agreed.

The EU and Britain still disagree over future arrangements for areas such as fisheries, state aid and financial services - potentially jeopardising the prospect of a deal.

The trade talks could break down, but what would that mean for Brits?

Check out our handy explainer HERE.

EU DIPLOMAT: GAPS TO BRIDGE IN TRADE TALKS 'STILL SUBSTANTIAL'

The UK and the European Union still need to bridge "quite substantial" gaps in their trade talks, a diplomat has said.

Negotiators are trying to hash out a deal but the thorny issues of fishing, the level playing field, and dispute resolution remain stumbling blocks.

"We are not hours away from a deal, what we still need to agree is quite substantial,” said the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Earlier today, Ireland's foreign minister Simon Coveney said that there was a "good chance" a deal could be reached in the coming days.

QUEUES COULD FORM ON THE M6

Queues of lorries could form on the M6 motorway when a new Brexit customs facility opens in Cheshire next month.

Some freight from Ireland will use the "inland border" in Warrington when the transition period ends on December 31.

Warrington council chief executive Steven Broomhead said the government should spend £2.5m improving the roads to avoid "gridlock".

The border post is being located inland as the ports at Liverpool, Heysham and Holyhead do not have the capacity to expand customs infrastructure.

The council expects up to 700 lorries passing through the site each day.

SUPERMARKET BOSS CALLS FOR GREATER CLARITY

Moving goods across borders after Brexit will be the biggest challenge come January 1, the chief executive of Tesco has warned.

Tesco will continue to operate whether Britain secures a free trade deal with the EU or not, but Ken Murphy says he remain worried about the movement of stock into the country.

He told Sky: "The biggest challenge we face really is the movement of product between borders, the movement of product between Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of course between mainland Europe and the UK.

"That is the one area where we really would urge the government to give us some clarity and to allow us to prepare even better for the end of December," he said.

BRITAIN DELIBERATELY BROKE AWAY FROM EUROPEAN MEDICINES AGENCY IN A BID TO APPROVE COVID VACCINE FASTER

Britain deliberately broke away from the European Medicines Agency control for vaccine approval in October - meaning the UK could rubber stamp the jab quicker.

Any EU member could in theory do this, but Brussels ordered the 27 remaining EU countries to form a united vaccine policy and wait for central approval.

Yesterday Germany acknowledged that this diktat has meant a slower rollout of the virus fighter.

Their health minister Jens Spahn said: “What we opted for was a common European approach to move forward together.”

Read more HERE

HOW WILL BREXIT AFFECT THE PREMIER LEAGUE TRANSFER WINDOW?

New regulations will come into force as a result of Britain's exit from the European Union.

Premier League clubs will be unable to sign players freely from the EU as the UK will no longer be a member of the single market.

Clubs will be limited to three under-21 signings each.

Foreign players will have to gain points in order to be able to play in the UK.

The criteria is based on the player's international appearance and their country's FIFA ranking.

Players from EU countries will not be allowed to be signed without a work permit, while clubs are banned from signing foreign players under the age of 18.

BRITAIN'S 'INEPT AND DISRESPECTFUL HANDLING' OF NORTHERN IRELAND 'HAS PUT UNITED IRELAND CENTRE STAGE'

The Government's "inept and disrespectful handling" of Northern Ireland during the Brexit talks has put the case for a United Ireland "centre stage", a campaign group has said.

Ireland's Future believes a united Ireland could be achieved as a result of referenda in the North and the Republic, similar to those held for the Good Friday Agreement, the reports.

A report titled the Conversation on Ireland's Future reveals that discussions around Irish unity should not fall into "lazy language about division".

Taoiseach Micheal Martin has ruled out a border poll within the next five years arguing it would be "volatile and divisive".

EU, UK NEGOTIATORS TO ASSESS STATE OF PLAY EITHER TODAY OR TOMORROW

British and EU negotiators will review the progress made in trade talks either on Thursday or Friday, according to officials within the bloc.

Three EU diplomats said separately that they hoped Michel Barnier and Lord David Frost could agree a deal as soon as Friday or at the weekend.

An unnamed source said the next 24-48 hours would be crucial towards reaching a free trade deal.

Ireland's foreign minister Simon Coveney said earlier today that there's a "good chance" an agreement between the UK and EU would be reached.

GOVE LIKELY TO SURVIVE CABINET RESHUFFLE

Michael Gove is set to survive a New Year reshuffle as he's doing an "excellent job" on preparations for the end of the Brexit transition period, Downing Street said yesterday.

The apparent vote of confidence comes after reports that Mr Gove and Boris Johnson clashed about whether to put London in the strictest tier of coronavirus restrictions, reports.

But, the PM's new press secretary Allegra Stratton said that Mr Johnson was happy with the work of his former leadership rival.

She told reporters: "Michael Gove has been doing an excellent job at the Cabinet Office, which is at the heart of Government on so many of these critical issues.

"If it's not Covid, then it's Brexit.

"If it's not transition and whether or not we're prepared then it's also the Union and the United Kingdom and making sure our relations with the devolved authorities and administrations continue to be good."

'A DEAL WITHIN DAYS'

There is a good chance that the UK and EU will agree a post-Brexit trade deal within days, Ireland's foreign minister has said.

It’s the time to hold our nerve and trust Michel Barnier. And I believe if we do that, there’s a good chance that we can get a deal across the line in the next few days," Simon Coveney told Newstalk.

WHY EASYJET OPPOSED BREXIT

EasyJet opposed Brexit because it was "born out of deregulation", the former CEO has admitted.

Carolyn McCall, who is now CEO of ITV, was the CEO of the budget airline between 2010 and 2017.

She was speaking exclusively on Lionel Barber's 'What Next?' podcast on .

When asked why she took a public position on the matter, Mrs McCall responded: "I took a public position for my company, which was endorsed by my board and by the founder.

"And the reason for that is EasyJet was born out of deregulation of the European Union..."

FTSE SUBDUED AMID BREXIT WORRIES

The FTSE 100 was left subdued as Brexit negotiations remain gridlocked with only weeks to go until the end of the transition period.

The index was flat after gaining more than three per cent in the past two sessions, while the FTSE 250 rose by just 0.1 per cent.

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, told envoys yesterday that talks were reaching “a make-or-break” moment.

Negotiations are said to have stalled as snags remain over the issues of fisheries, the level playing field, and dispute resolution.

'GOOD PROGRESS IS BEING MADE'

Good progress is being made in Brexit trade talks but Boris Johnson will not sign up to a deal that's not in Britain's interests, a cabinet minister has said.

There are just 28 days until the end of the Brexit transition period and a deal is yet to be agreed between the UK and EU.

“We always expect negotiations to go up to the wire, it’s a very typical situation when you’re having a negotiation with the European Union,” Education Secretary Gavin Williamson told Sky.

“I’m confident from what I hear that progress, good progress is being made but we’re going to do a deal that is right for Britain, if such a deal is available.

“If such a deal isn’t available then we’re not going to sign up to something that is to our detriment," he said.

FTSE 100 FALLS WITH BREXIT LOOMING

The FTSE 100 was set to fall today as France’s President Macron threw a spanner into the Brexit trade negotiations by demanding tougher terms on the UK.

Shares on the index were set to lose some of yesterday’s strong gains, partly due to concerns over the talks.

France is joined in its hawkishness by the Netherlands and Denmark, who have all claimed EU negotiator Michel Barnier has been too soft, particularly over fish quotas. 

BREXIT HAS HELPED COVID VACCINE

Brexit may have helped Britain win the race for a Covid vaccine, the leader of a major pharmaceutical firm has said, according to the Telegraph.

Hugo Fry is the UK managing director of Sanofi, a Paris-based multinational and the world's fifth-biggest drug maker.

He said the decoupling from the EU's regulatory and purchasing mechanisms had enabled the "nimble buying" of hundreds of millions of doses and a rapid green light for the Pfizer and BioNTech jab.

WALL OR NOTHING

Red wall voters will not forgive Boris Johnson if he sells out for a trade deal with Brussels, damning polling shows.

More than half of voters in 34 North and Midlands seats won by the Tories in 2019 will be less likely to vote for the PM if he does.

They do not want him to betray his pledge to take back control of UK fishing waters. And 58 per cent of those voters said they would be less likely to return Mr Johnson to No10 for another term if EU judges continue to have control over British laws.

The ability for Britain to forge our own free trade deals around the world was also a major condition for Conservative support for 55 per cent.

The Centre For Brexit Policy who commissioned the poll said: “On the supremacy of the British Parliament, swing voters living in key battleground areas in the North that gave the PM his majority are adamant there must be no backsliding.”

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He was said to have warned that significant differences remain over fisheries, state aid rules and the governance arrangements for any agreement.

The current trading arrangements expire at the end of the month, and failure to reach a deal would cause significant economic disruption.

The German MEP David McAllister, of the European parliament's Brexit co-ordination group - which also met Mr Barnier, said they had reached a "critical moment" in the negotiations.

He said agreement needed to be reached "within very few days" if the parliament and the member states were to complete the necessary "procedures" before the end of the Brexit transition period at the end of the year.

"This is the critical moment where principles need to be translated into rules and, more importantly, rules need to be guaranteed by a robust enforcement framework," he tweeted.

BREXIT TALKS HEAD FOR THE WIRE AS BOTH SIDES FIGHT THEIR CORNERS

Brexit talks have stretched late into the night as both sides fought their corners with the clock ticking down to the deadline for a trade deal.

It was reported that several boxes of pizza were delivered to the talks venue on Wednesday night as officials from London and Brussels tried to hammer out an agreement ahead of the end of the transition period on December 31.

The negotiations continued after Boris Johnson insisted the UK's "bottom line" on a post-Brexit trade deal is to "take back control".

The Prime Minister said he was "absolutely committed" to trying to secure a deal "if we can" amid warnings talks with the EU have reached a "make or break" point.

The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier briefed ambassadors from the 27 member states on the latest negotiations amid little sign of progress on the key issues.

CONTINUED

Giscard presided over a modernisation of French society, allowing divorce by mutual consent, legalising abortion and lowering the voting age to 18 from 21.

In Europe, he forged a close relationship with former West German chancellor Helmut Schmidt and together they laid the foundations for the single currency by setting up the European Monetary System.

Giscard sought to project the image of a young, modern president who was closer to the people than his predecessors, inviting himself to dinner at ordinary folks’ homes and playing the accordion.

But the global economic downturn of the 1970s and his perceived arrogance contributed to him losing his re-election bid to Socialist Francois Mitterrand.

AU REVOIR

Former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing has died aged 94.

Giscard, France's leader from 1974 to 1981 and a key architect of the European Union, died after being hospitalised in Tours, in the west of the country.

"In accordance with his wishes, his funeral will take place in the strictest family intimacy," his foundation said on Twitter.

He was admitted to hospital in September with respiratory problems - but after recovering was re-admitted in mid-November.

The former French leader was treated in the cardiology unit, according to Europe 1 radio, which first reported his death.

Elected president at 48, he came to power after years of Gaullist rule and sought to liberalise the economy and social attitudes.

BREXIT TRADE DEAL COULD COME IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS SAYS BBC

The United Kingdom and the European Union might have made enough progress to agree a trade deal in the next few days, the BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg said on Wednesday.

"After months and months, and yes, months, of talks, several sources have told me today that the process is likely to be concluded in the next few days," she said.

"One ambassador told me there was a hope the agreement could be finalised on Friday."

CONTINUED

They were also irritated that a significant chunk of the brief interview revolved around whether or not a scotch egg counted as a "substantial meal" when pubs open again.

Taking to Twitter, one disappointed viewer wrote: "So we wait 8 months to get #piersmorgan to eviscerate Gove and he wastes the interview on Scotch eggs & substantial meals for 16 year olds (same as on Sky) and Gove’s ambition to be PM."

Another agreed: "F**k sake @piersmorgan @susannareid100 Just let him speak! You ask him a question and don't let him answer."

A third said: "Pretty awful interview with Piers Morgan and Michael Gove. We can't hear you if you continually talk over each other."

RECAP - 'LET HIM ANSWER'

Good Morning Britain viewers slammed Piers Morgan for "speaking over" Michael Gove as he made his first appearance on the show in eight months today.

The presenter tore into the MP over the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Brexit, and even Boris Johnson - forcing Gove to commit live on air that he doesn't want to run for Prime Minister himself.

The interview got off to an awkward start as the 55-year-old star criticised Gove for boycotting the ITV breakfast show for the majority of the year.

The politician insisted that he was just "taking good advice", but refused to directly admit that Dominic Cummings had implemented the decision.

Gove went on to heap praise on Piers' tough interviews, with the presenter interrupting as he snapped "flattery won't get you anywhere".

He fiercely grilled the MP on a variety of issues, but fans at home were unimpressed that he then spoke over Gove each time that he tried to answer - making much of the conversation inaudible.

CONTINUED

Negotiators are holed up in a secret final haggle in London until Friday, but UK sources believe the EU could stall on giving a final deal the nod back in Brussels early next week.

In 2018 Mr Johnson hit out: “I cannot believe that this barbaric trade is still going on — but it is. Every year this country sends thousands of live calves overseas for slaughter, and some of them are enduring nightmare journeys as far as North Africa.

“They are jammed together in the dark. They are terrified. They slip and slide in their own excrement as the boats buck in the swell.”

Then a backbencher, he added: “They travel for more than 100 hours in conditions of such extreme discomfort that campaigners have been protesting for decades.

“The animals know they are going to die — and they are going to die far from home.”

'LIGHT TOUCH' APPROACH TO CUSTOM CHECKS

Customs officials will take a "light touch" approach to checking goods transported from Great Britain to Northern Ireland once the UK leaves the EU.

Aidan Reilly, director for customs and border design at HMRC, told members of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee: "We will be keeping customs checks to the minimum necessary to police the regime.

"We will want to make the regime appropriate for the circumstances in which it's operating, which is obviously within the overall UK customs territory, and obviously HMRC is administering both sides of these transactions, so we'll be able to access data that would not ordinarily be the case for cross-border movements.

"So we will do a lot to police it as appropriately and as light touch as possible."