‘No point’ negotiating

London: Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Government sees no point in talking with the European Union on a Brexit trade deal until the bloc starts to treat Britain as a sovereign state, a junior business minister said yesterday.

‘‘We are trying to get a deal,’’ Nadhim Zahawi told Sky, adding as long as the EU ‘‘negotiate with us as a sovereign.’’

‘‘Until you make it very clear that you are willing to negotiate with us as an equal, as a sovereign, then there’s no point simply just paying lip service saying you know ‘we’ll intensify’ negotiations,’’ he said. — Reuters