Businesses will ‘bite back’ if UK drops out without a deal

Irish and British businesses, banks and airlines will “bite back” and make Brexit decisions for themselves that could have dire consequences for both economies if a deal is not struck by Christmas, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has warned.

Mr Varadkar made the claim as he admitted that a realistic Brexit deal deadline date is “anyone’s guess” and could be as late as January. He refused to rule out an extension to the March 29, 2019 cutoff point for the UK to formally leave the EU.