Intensive Brexit talks to continue over weekend, Number 10 pledges

Intensive Brexit talks will continue over the weekend between Michel Barnier and Lord Frost, Downing Street has said.

A Number 10 spokesman told a Westminster briefing: “Intensive talks are continuing and they will continue over the weekend until the 25th.

“We’ve published a set of principles for handling these intensified talks and they will continue over the weekend.”

The trade talks between the UK and EU went on in London yesterday as Mr Barnier said both sides have a “common responsibility” to strike a deal.

Talks had been in limbo after Boris Johnson’s deadline for a deal passed last week but they resumed on Thursday as Brussels said both sides needed to compromise on trade issues.

Mr Barnier had arrived in London wearing a face covering printed with the EU flag. He told reporters: “I think we have a huge common responsibility. “Every day counts.” Number 10 said “significant gaps” remain between the two sides and it was “entirely possible that negotiations will not succeed”.

The main stumbling blocks remain fishing rights, the governance of any deal and the “level playing field” aimed at preventing unfair competition, which includes state subsidies.

Meanwhile Liz Truss, International Trade Secretary, has signed a free trade deal with Japan, hailing it as the dawn of a new era of free trade. The UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement ( Cepa) was agreed last month.

The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier.