Deal or no deal, we have to chart our own course

THE readiness of EU negotiators to risk shipwrecking talks to secure a postBrexit trade deal is a reminder of all that is wrong with the European Union.

France is so opposed to us being able to decide for ourselves what support our government should give our businesses that it has forced negotiators to change their position, plunging the talks into crisis.

It is ludicrous that the self- indulgence of one member state threatens to scupper valiant efforts to ensure trade can flow freely without tariffs when the transition phase ends at the close of the year.

This highlights a chronic fear of healthy competition at the heart of the EU and a stubborn failure to accept that we are intent on restoring our full sovereignty.

No matter what tricks are pulled in the hours and days ahead, we must not surrender the freedom of future generations of Britons to chart their own course in the world.

The people of Britain voted to take back control in the 2016 referendum. The EU refuseniks must grasp this simple fact and use the remaining time to lay a foundation for mutual prosperity.

Otherwise, they risk torching precious trust and plunging the continent into even deeper economic woes.