Brexit: ‘Breakthrough still possible’ as UK-EU trade talks resume

Britain and the EU will resume talks on a post-Brexit trade deal on Friday despite a senior UK government source saying the prospect of a breakthrough is "receding".

Sources suggested Brussels had hardened its stance on how common rules and regulations should be enforced with time running out.

But an EU source told the BBC "there were never any surprises or new demands" from their side.

Current trade rules end on 31 December.

Both sides are urgently seeking compromises in key areas, including fishing rights and competition rules.

A senior UK government source told BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg that the EU team were "bringing new elements into the negotiation" at the "11th hour".

The source said a breakthrough was "still possible in the next few days but that prospect is receding".

An EU source told the BBC's political editor that talks were "extremely sluggish" around the so-called level playing field for competition rules and standards while another EU insider suggested the UK is "posturing".

Kuenssberg said both sides were suggesting to her that the real sticking point was over how those rules would be policed.

The UK and EU have been locked in talks since March to determine their future relations once the UK's Brexit transition period ends in less than four weeks' time.

Takeaway food was seen being brought to the negotiating teams on Thursday evening as talks went on into the night.

The BBC's political editor said: "The stumbling blocks certainly aren't new, but the sense on the UK side is that talks have gone backwards 24 hours".

She added that there were "still real problems to solve".

The EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, is expected to return to Brussels on Friday to brief the bloc on the state of play, but Kuenssberg said he may come straight back to join the four new negotiators who arrived on Thursday night.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the UK remains "absolutely committed" to "getting a deal if we can".

Speaking on Wednesday, Johnson said the EU side "know what the UK bottom line is," as talks continued in what is seen as a crucial week.

The UK government is under pressure to conclude a deal by early next week to have time to turn it into law before the end of the year.

There are claims that France has taken a firmer approach on the terms of a deal.

Elvire Fabry, a senior research fellow at the Jacques Delors Institute think tank, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme France had "very consistently endorsed the role of being the bad cop and putting pressure on the negotiators, so it's not a new thing".

On Thursday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told reporters: "If the choice is a deal or no deal, then a deal is obviously in the national interest."

He said he was "consulting across the Labour Party" on whether the party's MPs should back a deal if it comes to a vote in the Commons, and would decide after examining the contents of the deal.

The government has not confirmed how it intends to ratify a deal in Parliament.

But the UK's chief negotiator Lord David Frost has said he assumed MPs would have to approve a law to implement "at least some elements" of a deal.

The negotiations are continuing ahead of a politically sensitive moment next week, when a controversial piece of Brexit legislation returns to the Commons.

The Internal Market Bill, which would allow ministers to override sections of the UK's withdrawal agreement, will come back before MPs on Monday.

The publication of the bill in September sent shockwaves through the talks, and led to the EU Commission beginning legal proceedings against the UK.

But on Thursday, Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said the government intends to reinsert contentious clauses taken out of the bill by the House of Lords.

The PM's spokesman added the bill was a "legal safety net" to protect the UK internal market, in case talks about detailed arrangements for the Irish border break down.

On Wednesday, MPs are also set to vote on a new taxation bill that will reportedly contain similar powers to override the withdrawal agreement over the issues of customs and VAT.

EU leaders are due to meet next Thursday in Brussels for a scheduled summit.