Some of the leading figures in British business have told Sky News it is "impossible" to imagine a trade deal being done within the deadline for the UK to leave the European Union.

Justin King, the former chief executive of Sainsbury's, said he didn't think "there's any possibility at all" of a deal being done, "not to any level of detail or quality".

Frances O'Grady, Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress, told Sky News it was "extremely optimistic" to think that a deal could be done by the end of March 2019, while Meurig Raymond, head of the farmers' union, predicted that it could take until the end of the next Parliament for a deal to be done.

Tim Martin, chairman of Wetherspoons pubs and an outspoken supporter of Brexit, was another to say that a deal was not feasible in the time-frame, suggesting it would be better to walk away from negotiations and instead switch to the terms of the World Trade Organisation.

Image: Justin King believes deal cannot be done in time

The Government's negotiations over a trade deal are one of the most crucial elements of Brexit talks, covering topics as varied as the price of milk, what counts as a home-built car and where bank loans can be agreed.


A deadline is supposed to be agreed by the end of March 2019 - two years after the triggering of the Article 50 process.

However, many within British business told us they were dubious about this deadline being met. That would mean the Government having to make a choice between walking away from talks without a deal, or else agreeing to extend talks for longer - a so-called "transitional period".

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Mr King is one of the best-known retailers and business leaders in the UK, having spent a decade as chief executive of Sainsbury's.

During that time, he earned a reputation for both long-term planning and astute negotiation. He thinks it is almost inconceivable that a full deal could be done by March 2019.

"The reality is that this is a negotiation with an unhelpful backdrop," said Mr King. "You wouldn't want to be doing any negotiation with an absolute clear dropdead deadline and we set that process in motion. You wouldn't want to be doing it in the public domain and you wouldn't want to have to lay out your non-negotiables.

"The people we've got have never done anything remotely like this - they will be doing something for which they have no experience, skills or formal set of rules, and that is not a recipe for success.

"When you overlay that with a tight timetable, and 27 parties who all have a vested interest - there is no realistic prospect of doing a deal. It will have to be transitional of some sort - people don't like that word - but I think that's what we will have to have."

Image: Tim Martin says it would be better to walk away from negotiations

His comments were echoed by other business leaders, by economists and also by trades unionists.

TUC boss Frances O'Grady told us that she felt "years would be added" to the negotiating period, while Meurig Raymond, leader of the National Farmers Union, claimed that "senior cabinet members" had told him that a deal could need a further three years of talks beyond the March 2019 deadline.

Mr Raymond also told us that he didn't expect serious negotiations to begin until after the German elections had been held in September of this year.

Of all the business leaders we spoke to, none had supported Brexit as publicly as Tim Martin, the chairman and founder of the Wetherspoons pub chain.

He agreed that a full deal was unlikely to be agreed within the next 22 months, but maintained that it wouldn't matter.

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"I think no [it won't be agreed] and thank God for that," said Mr Martin. "I think we're better off if we say to the Europeans: 'listen guys we're happy to trade on WTO rules so if you want a trade deal give us a bell, if not we'll get on with organising trade deals with other countries'.

"If you say we must have a deal at all costs, you can't negotiate a good deal. It's like me saying that I must buy your house, at all costs but that I'm not going to pay market price but what you think I can afford."

The question marks over Brexit are also causing nervousness across British business, which has seen investment fall. Alison Rose, chief executive of private and commercial banking at RBS, told Sky News that the effects of Brexit were "the important consideration for businesses at the moment".

"Businesses like to make their investment plans on a three, five or even ten-year horizon," she said.

"They don't have that now. We're seeing a horizon of just two years. We need some clear sense of direction to provide clarity, and the longer we have, the better."