Michael Gove said that there were no active preparations for leaving the EU without a trade deal in December

Ministers have stood down the government’s no-deal Brexit planning operation, Michael Gove said yesterday as he claimed that the chances of striking a deal were now at least 2-1.

Giving evidence to MPs, Mr Gove revealed that about 50 civil servants who had been working on Brexit negotiations had been re-deployed to deal with coronavirus and that there were no active preparations for leaving without a trade deal in December.

However, he said that there was no need for an extension to the transition period as Britain was asking for an “off the peg” trade deal with the European Union and it was in both sides’ interests to reach agreement by the end of the year.

Mr Gove, the minister for the Cabinet Office, also