UK sees only 30%-40% hope of deal as hard Brexit looms

Fears in London, Brussels, and other European capitals are mounting that a British exit without a trade deal could sow yet more economic chaos amid the turmoil of the Covid-19 crisis

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier. File picture: Yves Herman

The chances of a hard Brexit – with Britain leaving the EU without a trade deal - have risen sharply as negotiations have been threatened by London’s insistence that it have full autonomy over its state aid plans, negotiators and diplomats have said.

Senior officials in the British government see only a 30%-40% chance that there will be a Brexit trade agreement due to the impasse, while one senior EU diplomat offered a 50-50 chance.