Boris Johnson was accused of leaving the UK “staring down the barrel of a no-deal Brexit” after Brussels indicated that it may not be able to begin talks on future trade arrangements until March.

The comments came as Downing Street attempts to pile pressure on the EU for swift progress in talks, with just 11 months to complete complex negotiations before Mr Johnson’s self-imposed deadline of December 2020.

The prime minister’s official spokesperson told reporters that the UK would be in a position to begin negotiations on 1 February – the day after Brexit – and pointedly noted that talks could begin with the US first if the EU was not ready.

The prime minister will attempt to inject momentum into the process with a major speech in the days after the formal date of Britain’s departure, setting out his vision of the UK’s place in the world after it leaves the EU.

But in a sign of his desperation to draw a line under the controversy that has divided the country over the past four years, it is understood that he will not utter the word “Brexit” during his address.

Bizarre: Boris Johnson drives 'Brexit' digger through boxes Show all 8 1 /8 Bizarre: Boris Johnson drives 'Brexit' digger through boxes Bizarre: Boris Johnson drives 'Brexit' digger through boxes Conservative party leader Boris Johnson drives a JCB through a fake wall POOL/AFP via Getty Images Bizarre: Boris Johnson drives 'Brexit' digger through boxes Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a visit to JCB cab manufacturing centre in Uttoxeter, while on the General Election campaign trail. PA Photo. Picture date: Tuesday December 10, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Election. Photo credit should read: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire Stefan Rousseau PA Bizarre: Boris Johnson drives 'Brexit' digger through boxes Britain's Prime Minister and Conservative party leader Boris Johnson drives a Union flag-themed JCB, with the words "Get Brexit Done" inside the digger bucket, through a fake wall emblazoned with the word "GRIDLOCK", during a general election campaign event at JCB construction company in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, on December 10, 2019. - Britain will go to the polls on December 12, 2019 to vote in a pre-Christmas general election. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / POOL / AFP) (Photo by BEN STANSALL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) BEN STANSALL AFP via Getty Bizarre: Boris Johnson drives 'Brexit' digger through boxes Prime Minister Boris Johnson sits in a cab of a JCB during a visit to its cab manufacturing centre in Uttoxeter, while on the General Election campaign trail. PA Photo. Picture date: Tuesday December 10, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Election. Photo credit should read: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire Stefan Rousseau PA Bizarre: Boris Johnson drives 'Brexit' digger through boxes Britain's Prime Minister and Conservative leader Boris Johnson drives a Union flag-themed JCB, with the words "Get Brexit Done" inside the digger bucket, through a fake wall emblazoned with the word "GRIDLOCK", during a general election campaign event at JCB construction company in Uttoxeter, Britain, December 10, 2019. Ben Stansall/AFP/Pool via REUTERS POOL REUTERS Bizarre: Boris Johnson drives 'Brexit' digger through boxes A sign made for a visit by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to the JCB cab manufacturing centre in Uttoxeter, while on the General Election campaign trail. PA Photo. Picture date: Tuesday December 10, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Election. Photo credit should read: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire Stefan Rousseau PA Bizarre: Boris Johnson drives 'Brexit' digger through boxes Britain's Prime Minister and Conservative party leader Boris Johnson drives a Union flag-themed JCB, with the words "Get Brexit Done" inside the digger bucket, through a fake wall emblazoned with the word "GRIDLOCK", during a general election campaign event at JCB construction company in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, on December 10, 2019. - Britain will go to the polls on December 12, 2019 to vote in a pre-Christmas general election. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / POOL / AFP) (Photo by BEN STANSALL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) BEN STANSALL AFP via Getty Bizarre: Boris Johnson drives 'Brexit' digger through boxes Britain's Prime Minister and Conservative party leader Boris Johnson reacts as he sits in the cab of a drives a Union flag-themed JCB, after driving through a fake wall emblazoned with the word "GRIDLOCK", during a general election campaign event at JCB construction company in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, on December 10, 2019. - Britain will go to the polls on December 12, 2019 to vote in a pre-Christmas general election. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / POOL / AFP) (Photo by BEN STANSALL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) BEN STANSALL AFP via Getty

The word has already been all but banished from government discourse in the weeks since Mr Johnson won his 12 December election landslide on a promise to “get Brexit done”, even though critics insist that the shape of the UK’s EU withdrawal will not be known until the end of the year.

As news of the prime minister’s planned address emerged, one Whitehall source said: “I wouldn’t expect the word Brexit to be used.”

The speech, in early February, will be followed by the publication of a series of documents formally setting out the UK’s objectives in trade talks with the EU, US and other partners around the world.

EU governments are due to sign off a negotiating mandate for the European Commission to conduct trade talks with the UK at a meeting of the General Affairs Council in Brussels on 25 February, almost a month after Britain ceases to be a member.

But commission spokesperson Eric Mamer has now said that talks with the UK may not start until the following month.

“The commission can adopt its proposal for the negotiation directives only once the UK has actually withdrawn from the EU,” he told a press conference in Brussels.

Johnson met new European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in Downing Street earlier this month (PA)

“But then there is still an institutional process for these to be adopted by the (European) Council. This we know will take some time, which is why we have said we will start negotiations as quickly as we can, but it will certainly not be before the end of February, beginning of March.

“This is not a slowing down or speeding up of the process. This is simply the nature of the institutional process and the consultations that need to take place before the negotiation directives can be formally adopted.”

Any delay in getting talks underway after 31 January will eat into the time available before the end-of-December deadline that Mr Johnson has set for reaching a free trade agreement or allowing the UK to crash out without a deal.

The chief executive of the Best for Britain campaign, Naomi Smith, said: “Boris Johnson is boxing Britain into a corner.

“This latest news that negotiations won’t start until March, coupled with his refusal to extend the transition period, means we are well and truly staring down the barrel of a no-deal Brexit.

“The prime minister must think again, and give the country enough time to secure a relationship with Europe that protects our people, our jobs and our futures.”

Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said: “It has become increasingly obvious that the arbitrary deadline Boris Johnson has set for negotiating the future relationship between the EU and UK is woefully unrealistic.

“With business already in uproar about the Tories’ plans to end pan-European regulatory alignment, the Prime Minister is steering the UK towards some heavy storms.

“People deserve better than a future where a Prime Minister willingly threatens jobs, the environment and the NHS. It is essential that the transition period can be extended to prevent this devastating prospect.”

Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson (PA)

Mr Johnson’s spokesperson made clear that the UK would not wait for Brussels before opening up talks with other potential trade partners.

“We are ready to begin discussions with countries around the world from 1 February, we are ready to begin discussions with the EU from 1 February,” the spokesperson said.

“The EU have various processes to go through before they are ready to sit down and have their discussions with us.”

He noted that last October’s political declaration between the EU and UK included reference to a “shared intention to conclude agreements giving effect to the future relationship by the end of 2020”.

“That’s what we would expect to be achieved,” said the prime minister’s spokesperson. “They have signed up to this commitment. It’s a formal agreement between the UK and the EU that we should have this process completed by December 2020.”

The spokesperson said that the UK had already undertaken “exploratory” talks with the US on a wide range of issues likely to be included in any trade deal, and that Mr Johnson and Donald Trump had already made clear they wanted a deal to be concluded “as soon as possible”.

On talks with the EU, the spokesperson said: “The prime minister has said repeatedly that we are aiming to negotiate a Canadian-style free trade agreement with no alignment. He set that out directly to the new European Commission president in their first meeting.

“That position is also clearly set out in the manifesto on which the government was elected. When we leave the EU, we will have control of our laws and rules and we will no longer be a rule-taker.