The main obstacles remain around the 'level playing field', which aims to prevent unfair competition in areas such as state subsidies, fisheries policy and the governance of any agreement

Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen to talk by phone on this Saturday

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are expected to speak on the phone on Saturday to discuss the state of play in the trade negotiations.

After the negotiations ended on Wednesday, Barnier told MEPs and EU diplomats that there were still "very serious differences".

He said the main obstacles remained around the "level playing field", which aims to prevent unfair competition in areas such as state subsidies, fisheries policy and the governance of any agreement.

Lord Frost, commenting later, said that progress had been made during two weeks of intense talks, but "major differences remain on some central issues.