Lidington said London wanted a deal that satisfied all EU member states but its contingency plan for a ‘no-deal’ Brexit was well developed. He said it was important to wrap up negotiations by November in order to give British and European parliaments enough time to review and approve the text of any agreement.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Germany has no interest in a 'hard' Brexit, using the term widely used to mean Britain distancing itself from the EU by leaving the single market and the customs union. He added that Germany doesn’t want it to come to a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. The statement came amid Britain is due to leave the European Union on March 29 next year.