'Significant disruption' when Brexit transition ends, watchdog warns UK trade with the EU faces "significant disruption" when the Brexit transition period ends in January, the National Audit Office has said.

This poll shows that the British public understand the damage that would be inflicted by leaving the transition period without an agreement and would not forgive Boris Johnson for failing to deliver on his election promise of an ‘oven-ready’ trade deal.

Everyone is distracted by coronavirus and yet talks are still ongoing to prevent a damaging no-deal Brexit. Such a disastrous outcome should have been ruled out long ago to give businesses some peace of mind amid all the difficulties they face.

With businesses already stretched to breaking point by COVID, leaving the Brexit transition period without a deal in place would be economically devastating. The clock is still ticking.

In the midst of a global pandemic and with so many jobs on the line, the government must resume negotiations with the EU and deliver on its election promise to secure an 'oven-ready' trade deal.

Brinkmanship has costs. There are millions of jobs on the line and the country is facing an unprecedented recession. Adding more taxes and barriers to our business with Europe is going to be devastating. Standing up for Britain doesn't look like this.

The Prime Minister was elected on a promise to secure a trade deal with the EU. To be clear, the EU has not abandoned the idea of a free trade deal with us and it would be the Prime Minister's decision to abandon these talks.

The industries impacted worst by COVID, such as hospitality, are not the same as those worst impacted by a no-deal Brexit. That means the economic pain is likely to spread further and the crisis we face is deeper. A no-deal Brexit would be disastrous in the current climate.

Given the Government's last ferry contracts ended in a court battle, many will rightly question whether this is the best way to ensure vital medical supplies and other critical goods can be smoothly delivered to the UK after the transition period ends.

New report assesses the domestic impact of Britain leaving the Brexit transition period without a UK-EU trade deal at the end of this year. Without a deal, businesses are staring down the barrel at a 'perfect storm' of Brexit and COVID this Christmas.

The Government's ill-thought through Internal Market Bill has already embarrassed Britain on the international stage, but now it's clear that it threatens to blow up the chances of a trade deal too.

This is another example of the damage caused by failing to agree a comprehensive trade agreement. The UK car industry will be left behind in the slow lane as a result of this negotiating failure.

These new figures mean one thing for struggling Britons: hunger. This disaster is unfolding on Boris Johnson’s watch, and his bluster and blather will not stop families starving. The time to agree a deal is now, or on his conscience be it.

The Government says it wants businesses to prepare themselves, while failing to articulate the trading terms they are expected to prepare for. Even worse, it is desperately looking for ways to paper over the cracks of its failings and has earmarked a Covid testing centre to make room for a giant lorry park.

The Government says business preparations for the end of the transition period must not be left to the last minute, yet its failure to set up support schemes is badly failing those businesses.

The immediate impact of a failure to secure a comprehensive trade deal may be overshadowed by COVID, but taken together these two factors will create a toxic mix for recovering businesses in the New Year.

The UK Government can continue to stick its fingers in its ears over the ill-advised Internal Market Bill, but sooner or later the consequences of acting like a rogue state will come back to haunt us."

Bad relations with the EU makes no sense for either side and most people will think it’s inconceivable that the Government would take such a gamble at such a critical time in the country’s history.

47 per cent of voters say planning to break the law is unacceptable, and only 25 per cent believe it can be acceptable. Boris Johnson has completely lost non-Tory voters on this issue, doesn’t have the backing of a huge number of his own voters.

Any trust the EU may have had in the U.K. government appears to have evaporated. With so much at stake – not least peace in Northern Ireland – it is imperative that the Prime Minister moves immediately to restore some international faith in the trustworthiness of our country.