Michel Barnier fears “serious divergences” between the EU and Britain over trade

Britain and the European Union face “very grave and serious” disagreements that could scupper a Brexit trade deal, Michel Barnier said as the first round of talks concluded.

The EU’s chief negotiator said that the UK’s stance on fishing, human rights and how a trade deal would be policed were profoundly at odds with his mandate.

“To be completely frank there are many divergences and they are very serious divergences,” he said.

The negotiations highlighted the government’s refusal to enshrine the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in the final agreement. The EU is demanding that ministers accept the ECHR and the European Court of Human Rights as the price for criminal justice co-operation.

“They do not wish formally to commit to continuing to apply