UK will need to extend Brexit transition, Merkel ally warns Britain

Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, who is regularly in touch with diplomats in EU capitals, said: “It will be very hard for both sides to reach the outlines of a free trade agreement by autumn, or indeed by June, which is when the PM wants to take a decision on whether it is worth pursuing a free trade agreement.

“Last week should have been the fifth round of negotiations, but it was the second. The bottom line is that on both sides the top politicians’ attention is focused on coronavirus, not Brexit, which makes a deal in the short term highly unlikely.”