Michel Barnier rushes to London TONIGHT for crunch Brexit talks

Michel Barnier will arrive in London this evening ahead of crunch Brexit trade talks with Lord Frost tomorrow as the clock ticks down towards Boris Johnson‘s deadline for a breakthrough. 

The EU’s chief negotiator is due to meet with his UK counterpart with less than a week to go until a European Council summit on October 15. 

Mr Johnson has said he wants the outline of a trade agreement to be in place before the summit in Brussels amid reports he will walk away from discussions next week if a path to an accord is not visible.

Mr Barnier’s arrival in the capital comes after a week of informal talks between UK and EU negotiating teams and before a formal round of negotiations gets underway in Brussels on Monday. 

The two sides remain deadlocked on key issues like fishing rights but despite the time pressures there are no plans for negotiations to continue over the weekend. 

Michel Barnier will arrive in London this evening ahead of talks with UK counterpart Lord Frost tomorrow

Boris Johnson, pictured in Downing Street today, has set a deadline of the European Council on October 15 for the outline of a deal to be in place 

The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman said: ‘We have been perfectly clear about the need to work towards the October 15 European Council. 

‘The EU has agreed to intensified talks, those have been taking place this week and you will see more of them next week.’ 

Mr Johnson has been engaged in phone call diplomacy with key EU figures in recent weeks as the race to strike a trade deal with the bloc intensifies. 

Yesterday he spoke to Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, who said it was time for the UK to finally ‘put its cards on the table’ during talks.

Mr Johnson then spoke to Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin today although Downing Street insisted the call was about coronavirus rather than Brexit.   

The continuing efforts to strike a deal came as the Government confirmed lorry drivers using the channel crossings in Kent will need an access permit to enter the county at the end of the post-Brexit transition period in December. 

The scheme, originally announced last month by Minister for the Cabinet Office Michael Gove, is intended to stop the county’s roads being clogged up once customs controls with the European Union are re-imposed from January 1.

According to the latest updated Government guidance, a new ‘check an HGV’ service will enable hauliers to check if they have the correct customs documentation in order to obtain a Kent access permit.

Mr Gove, who is responsible for Brexit implementation, has previously warned that queues of up to 7,000 trucks could form in Kent unless businesses do more to prepare.

Following the release of the latest guidance, Mr Gove said: ‘With fewer than three months to go, businesses need to prepare now for new procedures, whether or not we reach a trade agreement with the EU, so that they can seize the significant opportunities that lie ahead.’

The updated Government guidance also confirms that EU, European Economic Area and Swiss national identity cards will no longer be valid as travel documents for entering the UK from October 21.