'Large gaps' remain after crucial Brexit talks

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'Large gaps' remain after crucial Brexit talks
Boris Johnson's supper with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen - targeted at breaking the Brexit trade deadlock - is finished without agreement.

A No 10 spokesperson said "very large gaps remain" but talks will continue, with a "organization decision" by Sunday on whether a deal could be reached.

Mrs von der Leyen said the two sides were still "much apart".

Talks between the UK's chief negotiator Lord Frost and the EU's Michel Barnier might resume found in Brussels later.

Both negotiators also attended the three-hour dinner assembly between your two leaders.

The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg said the evening had "plainly gone badly" and the probability of the UK leaving the post-Brexit transition period at the end of the year with out a firm arrangement was a "big step closer".

Time is jogging out to reach a deal before 31 December, when the UK stops following EU trading rules.

Major disagreements remain on fishing legal rights, business competition guidelines and how a package will be policed.

The dinner was regarded as a last-ditch opportunity to sort out the main sticking points and for both sides to try and find some common ground.

In a statement, the UK side said there had been "a frank discussion about the significant obstacles which stay in the negotiations".

"Large gaps remain between your two sides in fact it is even now unclear whether these could be bridged," a No 10 spokesperson said.

They said both sides had decided to further discussions over the next few days, and the PM did "not need to leave any path to a possible deal untested".

"The PM and VDL [von der Leyen] agreed that by Sunday a company decision ought to be taken about the continuing future of the talks," the spokesperson added.

Mrs von der Leyen said the discussions have been "lively and interesting", and both sides fully "understand each other's positions" nonetheless they "remain far apart".

"We will come to a decision by the end of the weekend," she said.

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