Brexit: Boris Johnson gives Oct 15 as deadline for trade deal, tells EU to agree or 'move on'

LONDON: Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to say that if no agreement on trade between the EU and UK can be reached by October 15 both sides should "accept that and move on". Johnson will say completing the UK's exit from the EU without a trade deal would still be a "good outcome", the BBC reported. It comes after UK chief negotiator David Frost said the UK is not "scared" of walking away. Another round of talks - the eighth - is due to begin on Tuesday.

But on the eve of the negotiations, the Financial Times reported that the UK is planning new legislation that will override key parts of the Brexit withdrawal agreement made last year.

The new bill would eliminate the legal force of arrangements over customs in Northern Ireland which had been designed to avoid a hard border with the Irish Republic. It would also override provisions on state aid - the financial assistance sometimes given by the government to companies.

Government sources told the BBC that the legislation would be introduced this week, describing it as a "sensible fall-back option" in case negoiations break down.

They said it was "not intended to derail the talks", but a key EU diplomat told the BBC it was "a self-defeating strategy" that could lead to the trade talks unravelling altogether. (IANS)

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