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Brexit negotiations between the UK and EU are in "a state of paralysis", according to Europe's chief negotiator.

Michel Barnier last night told EU diplomats that Boris Johnson's government had failed to come up suggestions on how to replace the Irish backstop.

A diplomatic note leaked to the Financial Times, the EU’s chief negotiator said: “We are currently in a state of paralysis.”

Mr Barnier also told diplomats from EU member states that Britain was determined to diverge from the EU's regulatory standards in any future trade deal.

It came after Mr Barnier had a six-hour meeting with UK negotiator David Frost.

(Image: AFP/Getty Images)

But Mr Barnier warned colleagues that any trade deal where the UK holds a competitive edge over European capitals such as Paris would be difficult to pass.

The note added: “There could be problems to ratify a Free Trade Agreement …unless this is balanced.

“Overall, the ambition in the political declaration is being reduced.”

Meanwhile, one EU diplomat told the paper that Brussels was prepared to give the UK another Brexit extension if the Prime Minister is forced by Parliament to seek one.

They said: “There is absolutely no appetite in the EU to throw Britain off the Brexit cliff edge.

“If the UK parliament were to ask for an extension to prevent a no-deal outcome, it would be hard to see how the EU27 could refuse that.”

On Monday, Mr Johnson claimed that chances of a deal with the EU to avoid a no-deal Brexit were "rising" but were being put at risk by rebel MPs opposed to his plans to suspend Parliament.

(Image: REUTERS)

In response, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said that "EU leaders report that the government has failed to present any new proposals".

He added: "After these meetings, the Prime Minister struck an optimistic tone saying the chances of a deal were 'improving'.

"His optimism is not shared by those who have been in those same meetings."

Former chancellor Philip Hammond told the BBC on Tuesday morning: “There are no substantive negotiations going on.”

The PM's enthusiasm was rubbished by European officials, Tory MPs - and his own advisers.

Leaks from Downing Street suggest that Mr Johnson's controversial chief of staff Dominic Cummings described talks as “a sham” in internal strategy meetings.

According to the Daily Telegraph Attorney General Geoffrey Cox warned Boris Johnson that t was a “complete fantasy” to think the EU would ditch the Northern Irish backstop - which is the PM's condition for any new deal.

Former chancellor Philip Hammond told the BBC on Tuesday morning: “There are no substantive negotiations going on.”