Yahoo News Brexit news – live: ‘Final push’ from EU as Verhofstadt says ports chaos shows UK reality of leaving bloc
Michel Barnier has said we are in a “crucial moment” and the EU is giving a “final push” to try and get a trade agreement with the UK, just moments before he was due to brief EU ambassadors in Brussels.
It comes as MEP Guy Verhofstadt tweeted a video of lorry queues at Manston Airport and said the UK “will now start to understand what leaving the EU really means…”
Meanwhile it was revealed that Boris Johnson has been having secret one-on-one talks with EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen in a bid to break the Brexit deadlock.
No10 would not confirm or deny the chats had taken place but a senior EU official said the meetings were "part and parcel of the negotiation".
Also today, a group of MPs have warned that ministers must intervene to prevent Brexit driving up food prices as foreign workers leave Britain. Neil Parish, chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, said “we all risk higher food prices” if “British farmers and food producers can’t get the workers they need”.
Watch: Why is fishing so important in Brexit talks?
