Boris Johnson says it is 'very, very likely' the UK is heading for a no-deal Brexit with the EU

• It is "very, very likely" the UK will fail to strike a Brexit trade deal with the EU, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said.
• "It's looking very, very likely that we will have to go for a solution that will be very good for the UK... and come out on World Trade terms," he told the BBC on Friday.
• The two sides have failed to reach an agreement on fishing, rules for preventing unfair competition, and how a final deal would be policed.
• A no-deal outcome would result in costly tariffs on a range of goods from January 1, when the UK leaves the Brexit transition period.

It is now "very, very likely" that the United Kingdom will fail to strike a Brexit trade deal with the European Union, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said.

"I've got to tell you from where I stand right now... it's looking very, very likely that we will have to go for a solution that will be very good for the UK... and come out on World Trade terms," he told the BBC on Friday.

Johnson will take stock of talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday as negotiators try to make a breakthrough over the thorny issues of fishing, rules for preventing unfair competition (also known as the "level playing field,") and how a final deal would be policed.

A Downing Street spokesperson on Wednesday evening said there were still "major differences" between the UK and EU after Johnson discussed the negotiations with EU chief von der Leyen over dinner in Brussels. The two sides have just twenty days to strike an agreement and put into law before the Brexit transition period ends on New Years' Eve.

A no-deal outcome - or what Johnson and his government controversially call an "Australian-style" relationship - would result in the UK and EU trading on basic World Trade Organisation terms, with tariffs imposed on a range of goods.

These new taxes would almost certainly lead to price rises for everyday items like food and drink. Tesco chairman John Allan warned this week that average prices in UK supermarkets could rise by 5%.

The Office for Budget Responsibility recently estimated that leaving the EU without a trade deal would reduce the UK's long-term, economic output by 6%.

Malcolm Turnbull, Australia's former prime minister, on Thursday evening warned that Australia's trading relationship with the EU was "pretty disappointing" and littered with "very large barriers."

"Be careful what you wish for. Australia's relationship with the EU is not one, from a trade point of view, that Britain would want, frankly," he said.