A top European Union official dealing with the UK said on Tuesday that a cliff-edge rupture between the two without even a basic trade deal by the end of the year is becoming more likely by the day.

European Vice President Maros Sefcovic told the European Parliament that "time is short" to reach a deal before a Brexit divorce transition period ends by year's end, effectively giving negotiators less than four weeks to broker a deal which must subsequently go through a lengthy approval process.