Asked what would happen if the UK and EU do not agree on a trade deal ahead of the end of the transition period, Boris Johnson said “we can more than live with it”.
He told the BBC: “I hope that they’ll agree to the deal that we’ve set out because it’s a very good deal for the EU.
“All we’re asking our friends and partners to offer is terms that they’ve already offered to Canada which is you know a long way away from here.
“We’re very close to our European friends and partners, we’ve been members of the EU for 45 years, I see no reason why we shouldn’t get those sorts of terms.”He added: “I don’t want the Australian-WTO type outcome, particularly, but we can more than live with it.”
Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said he thought a Brexit trade deal would be agreed.
Speaking on Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, he said: “I sense from the Government’s language from the last few days, one or two of the things they’ve said on fisheries, some of the comments from Ursula von der Leyen yesterday reminding Boris Johnson and the Government that we did sign a new European treaty last year called the Withdrawal Agreement.
“I sense there will be a compromise, I sense there will be a deal before the end of the year and it is one that will not fully satisfy many Brexiteers.”
Asked whether he would be entering the political frame again if he was unhappy with a deal, Mr Farage replied: “Let’s see where we go with this but if they completely drop the ball on Brexit, if we finish up stuck with a level playing field, unable to be competitive then there are more battles to be fought.”
