BORIS Johnson last night insisted that a No-Deal Brexit would be “more than satisfactory” for the UK.
His comments came as Nicola Sturgeon, mayor of London Sadiq Khan and a number of his own backbenchers urged him to try and find some way of delaying negotiations.
They fear crashing out of the EU without an agreement in little over a week will compound the chaos currently engulfing the UK as a result of the new mutant Covid-19 strain.
The transition period ends on Hogmanay, and if no trade deal is agreed before then, the UK will leave Europe and move straight on to WTO terms on January 1.
Any deal agreed upon also has to be ratified by Parliament before the New Year.
Yesterday there was some suggestion MPs and peers could be called back to Westminster next week to speedily pass any necessary legislation.
London and Brussels are reportedly still far apart on fishing, and the so-called level playing field remains.
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Yesterday, Sturgeon urged Johnson to activate No-Deal Brexit port disruption plans.
She was speaking after France announced a ban on hauliers taking freight across the Channel on Sunday in a bid to keep the new Covid strain firmly in the UK.
A string of EU countries, including Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria and Ireland, have all restricted travel to the UK over concerns about the new strain – which is thought to be up to 70% more transmissible.
The Port of Dover has been closed to all traffic – both freight and passengers – amid the French travel ban.
Scottish exporters have warned that millions of perishable products are at risk, stuck waiting to get to the continent.
Sturgeon told the Scottish Government’s coronavirus briefing: “In particular, the UK has planned for port disruption as part of a No-Deal Brexit, and those plans should now be activated.”
Sturgeon said the Scottish Government is working with the UK Government to mitigate the impact, with both holding resilience meetings.
Earlier, she tweeted that it was “imperative that [the] PM seeks an agreement to extend the Brexit transition period”.
She said: “The new Covid strain – and the various implications of it – means we face a profoundly serious situation, and it demands our 100% attention.
“It would be unconscionable to compound it with Brexit.”
Tory MP Tobias Ellwood, a former defence minister, tweeted: “Let Brexit trade talks continue. These are far from ideal conditions to rationally determine our future prosperity and security terms. If there’s no deal by New Year, let’s do what’s best for the UK and pause the clock.”
Simon Hoare, the North Dorset MP, tweeted that it was “time for maturity”, saying: “There’s no [parliament] time to scrutinise and agree a deal, and daily clarity of the dangers to our already pressured economy of No Deal is alarming.”
Khan said securing key supply chains and “fighting the coronavirus pandemic requires the full and undivided efforts of ministers more than ever before”.
Speaking at the Downing Street Covid-19 briefing, Johnson said he still wanted a deal, but was prepared for a No-Deal situation.
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He said: “There are problems. It’s vital that everybody understands that the UK has got to be able to control its own laws completely and also that we’ve got to be able to control our own fisheries. It remains the case the WTO terms would be more than satisfactory for the UK. We can certainly cope with any difficulties that are thrown our way.
“Not that we don’t want to do a deal, but the WTO terms would be entirely satisfactory, and prosper mightily remains an extremely good description of life after January 1 either way.”
There was support for Johnson from Labour leader Keir Starmer.
But he said the Prime Minister should continue trying to get a deal.
“I don’t want the extension, I want the deal,” he said yesterday.
“Get that deal over the line today or tomorrow, don’t delay. People were promised a deal, and you must deliver that deal.”
The SNP’s Ian Blackford hit out at Starmer’s position: “Yet again, Labour and the Tories are recklessly endangering Scotland’s economy by working hand-in-glove to rip Scotland out of the EU, and the world’s largest single market, at the worst possible time.”
Sterling endured its worst day in more than three months yesterday.
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