Varadkar: UK enjoys good EU trade deals

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said Brexit talks can only move forward if sufficient progress is made before October.

Speaking in Canada, following a bilateral meeting with that country’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, Mr Varadkar questioned why the UK would want to depart from the customs union and the single market, which he said were perfectly good trade deals with the EU.

He was speaking after British Brexit minister, David Davis, had said early discussions of the future trading relationship between Britain and the EU would help progress on the Irish border, a key issue in phase one of withdrawal talks.