Boris appeals for EU to 'see sense' over 'unreasonable' fishing rights demands as he admits No Deal Brexit will be 'difficult' - after Michel Barnier warns there are just 'a few hours' to break the deadlock and path is 'very narrow'

Boris Johnson today appealed for the EU to 'see sense' over Brexit demands on fishing rights - as he admitted that No Deal will be 'difficult'.

The PM warned there was still a 'gap that needs to be bridged' between the two sides, making clear that Brussels must 'come to the table' to help find a way through.

He accepted that the collapse of talks and reverting to WTO terms from December 31 would be 'difficult at first' - but delivered a bullish message that the country would still 'prosper mightily'. 

The comments, on a visit to Bolton, came after Michel Barnier warned there are just 'a few hours' to secure a breakthrough.

The bloc's chief negotiator told the European Parliament that the talks had reached the 'moment of truth' after nearly a year of desperate wrangling - and with less than a fortnight to ratify any agreement struck.

But he warned that the path to a settlement was 'very narrow', with Downing Street branding the EU's stance 'unreasonable' and insisting no deal is still the most likely outcome despite some progress.

Fishing increasingly appears to be the biggest remaining obstacle. Mr Johnson is said to have joked to No10 officials that the Britons will be 'eating fish for breakfast, lunch and dinner' after the transition period ends on December 31.

Boris Johnson (pictured right on a visit to Bolton today) is said to have joked to No10 officials that the Britons will be 'eating fish for breakfast, lunch and dinner' after the transition period ends on December 31

Michel Barnier told the European Parliament that the talks had reached the 'moment of truth' after nearly a year of desperate wrangling - and with less than a fortnight to ratify any agreement struck.

EU commission president Ms von der Leyen (pictured this week) is expected to speak to Mr Johnson again over the next 48 hours

Lorries queue for The Port of Dover along the A20 in Kent as the Dover TAP (Traffic Access Protocol) is implemented today

What are the sticking points in Brexit talks? 

FISHING

The UK has insisted that it will take back control of its coastal waters from the end of the transition period.

But the EU was demanding its fleets maintain previous levels of access - with Emmanuel Macron under particular pressure from the French fishing industry.   

Initially the UK said it wanted to reclaim 80 per cent of the EU quotas from January 1.

However, Brussels suggested that only 18 per cent should be restored.

The two sides are thought to be close to a 'landing zone' that includes a transition period, perhaps of five or seven years. However, there is no settlement yet.

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD 

The EU has insisted the UK commits to 'level playing field' provisions, guaranteeing it will not undercut businesses on the continent by rolling out lower environmental standards and regulations.

State aid has emerged as a particular issue, especially as coronavirus makes swathes of the economy unviable. 

But the UK says it must regain sovereign powers to decide on rules, even though it has no plans to lower standards or warp competition by subsidising the private sector. 

It appeared this area was close to resolution before France reportedly laid down a series of extra conditions including huge punishments in the form of tariffs for breaking the rules.

Although the UK is happy with 'non-regression' - meaning current standards are accepted as a baseline - it has dismissed demands to obey rules made by the bloc in future.

Michel Barnier told EU ambassadors this week the UK is now willing to accept the need for a 'rebalancing mechanism' on rules which could resolve the row. 

GOVERNANCE

The enforcement of any deal, and who decides whether rules are broken, has been one of the flashpoints from the start.

Breaking free of the European Court of Justice was among the biggest demands of Brexiteers at the EU referendum. 

But Brussels has been pushing to keep control of the governance, as well as insisting on tough fines and punitive tariffs for breaches.  

The governance issue is heavily linked to that of the 'level playing field' with a breakthrough on the latter likely to pave the way for a breakthrough on the former. 

On a visit to an OpenReach facility today, Mr Johnson stressed the public voted in the EU referendum to control its own laws and waters.

'No sensible government is going to agree to a treaty that doesn't have those two basic things in it as well as everything else,' he said.

'Our door is open, we'll keep talking, but I have to say things are looking difficult.

'There's a gap that needs to be bridged, the UK has done a lot to try and help, and we hope that our EU friends will see sense and come to the table with something themselves, because that's really where we are.'

He acknowledged there would be difficult days ahead in the short term if the transition period ends on December 31 without a trade deal in place.

'Yes, it may be difficult at first but this country will prosper mightily, as I've said many, many times, on any terms and under any arrangement, and I think we've just got to get through this period and look to all the opportunities that will open up to this country in 2021,' he said. 

Speaking to MEPs in Brussels earlier, Mr Barnier said he was heading straight back from the session for a 'last attempt' to break the impasse with the UK's Lord Frost. 

'It's the moment of truth. We have very little time remaining, just a few hours to work through these negotiations in a useful fashion if we want this agreement to enter into force on the first of January,' he said.

'There is a chance of getting an agreement but the path to such an agreement is very narrow.'

UK government sources have indicated that today will be a 'crunch moment' as the EU pushes to get a deal agreed so a legal text can be finalised by a new deadline of Sunday.

Lord Frost said: 'The situation in our talks with the EU is very serious tonight. Progress seems blocked and time is running out.' 

In a call last night, the Prime Minister warned European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen he believed negotiations were 'now in a serious situation'.

'Time is very short and it now looks very likely agreement will not be reached unless the EU position changes substantially,' he said.

Downing Street said Mr Johnson had 'stressed that the UK could not accept a situation where it was the only sovereign country in the world not able to control access to its own waters for an extended period and to be faced with fisheries quotas which hugely disadvantaged its own industry'.

It is understood Brussels is pushing for an eight-year transition period that would mean the UK would not regain total control of its valuable fishing grounds until 2029. British negotiators had previously offered a three-year period.

No10 said Mr Johnson told Mrs von der Leyen 'the EU's position in this area was simply not reasonable and if there was to be an agreement it needed to shift significantly'.

Mr Barnier said today: 'We're not asking more nor less than a balance between rights and obligations and reciprocity, access to our markets and access to our waters and the other way round, no more, no less.

'It's also obvious that this isn't an agreement we will sign at any price or any cost.

'I think I've always been frank with you and open and sincere. I cannot say what will come during this last home straight of negotiations. We have to be prepared for all eventualities.'

Lord Frost (pictured yesterday) has been locked in talks in Brussels this week as efforts to break the deadlock reach a critical moment 

In her statement last night, Mrs von der Leyen said there had been 'substantial progress on many issues' but that 'big differences remain to be bridged, in particular on fisheries'.

The issue of what should happen if the two sides want to vary their standards on labour, environment and state subsidies in the future – known as the 'level playing field' – is understood to be close to being finalised.

However, British negotiators are still pushing back against a demand from Brussels that the European Commission should be exempted from the arrangements on subsidies.

Truck tailbacks stretch 20 MILES at Dover: Thousands of lorries queue for ferries as ports in UK and Calais are paralysed by shipping container crisis 

Queues at Dover reached 20 miles today with long traffic jams in Calais through the night as thousands of lorries - many full of Christmas gifts and food - tried to cross the Channel amid chaos at Britain's container ports.

Extraordinary photographs taken from above the M20 in Kent showed how vehicles were bumper-to-bumper amid claims businesses are stockpiling in case of a No Deal Brexit at the end of the month.

And across the water in France, in Calais trucks lined dual carriageways for miles as they tried to get a ferry to Dover or the Channel Tunnel to Folkestone ahead of the busiest shopping week of the year. 

Retailers say items they ordered in August for Christmas have still not arrived in Britain because of shipping chaos caused by Covid-19 in China and problems unloading in the UK seeing containers dumped in Zeebrugge, Belgium.

UK firms are haemorrhaging £1million or more because shipments have been delayed and quadrupled in price with the cost of moving a container from Qingdao, China, to the UK now at £7,500 per load - up from £2,000.

Containers from one of the world's largest cargo ships, the Ever Gifted, were seen being unloaded at Felixstowe amid chaos caused by a perfect storm of backlogs at UK container ports, pre-Brexit stockpiling and the pandemic.

Shoppers are being badly hit in the pocket as a result, with the cost of some of the most-wanted Christmas gifts increasing by up to £40 each in the past week. 

Lorries wait outside The Port of Dover along the A20 in Kent amid high volumes of freight traffic this morning

Lorries queue to enter The Port of Dover today as the clock ticks down on the chance for the UK to strike a Brexit trade deal 

Lorries queue to enter The Port of Dover in Kent today as the clock ticks down on the chance for the UK to strike a Brexit deal

Vehicles are bumper-to-bumper at Dover today amid claims businesses are stockpiling in case of a No Deal Brexit

Lorries queue to enter The Port of Dover in Kent this morning as the deadline to strike a Brexit trade deal draws ever nearer

Three key issues causing delays at British ports 

Problems at ports are being caused by a series of problems occurring at once which are not all unique to the UK. Industry insiders say there are three key issues behind the chaos:

COVID - shipping container shortage

The system for shipping goods around the world stopped working properly when economies shut down and reopened at different times as they dealt with Covid.

This led to shipping firms falling behind when it came to retrieving empty containers from European ports and taking them back to factories in Asia.

The container shortage is being exacerbated by a lack of staff across the global supply chain - including sailors, hauliers and warehouse workers - due to people falling ill or having to quarantine.

The problems caused by Covid have been compounded by a surge in demand caused by:

BREXIT - customs and stockpiling

If the UK leaves the EU with no deal, then at the end of the transition period tariffs will be applied to imported goods according to World Trade Organisation rules.

Companies are therefore stockpiling goods out of fear of having to pay tariffs, or because they are concerned that new customs procedures after Brexit will delay imports.

CHRISTMAS RUSH

There is always a spike in demand for goods around Christmas, which is exacerbating problems.

The British Toy and Hobby Association , the British Retail Consortium and the Food and Drink Federation are calling on the Government to intervene at Felixstowe and Southampton and 'save the festive season' by getting more cargo into the UK.  

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: 'After a tremendously challenging 2020, many firms' cashflows are under severe pressure, and so businesses are in no position to absorb these additional shipping costs.

'As a result, consumers will pay the final price. Christmas orders could be delayed, and retailers might be left with no option but to increase product prices. These issues must be addressed urgently. An inquiry would provide the scrutiny needed to help get our ports flowing freely again.' 

MailOnline research on the respected consumer site PriceSpy reveals that a Nintendo Switch will today cost you on average £279.85 in the shops or online - up £10 since the start of the month. 

A Barbie Dreamhouse has increased in price by £40 in the same period to £280.97 while Star Wars Lego, which is in short supply this Christmas, is up £15 to £99 for a space ship set.

An electric scooter - seen by many experts as the most wanted Christmas gift - is £30 up to £139.99 on average because so many have been held up at ports in China, Europe and Britain due to a global shipping crisis.

The ongoing congestion at British ports means many Christmas toys, gifts and stocking fillers are now unlikely to make it on time with businesses hemorrhaging £1million or more because shipments have been delayed and quadrupled in price.

There were queues of up to ten miles at Dover and Calais earlier this week as retailers rushed to cross the Channel avoiding the snarled up container ports. 

The huge Singapore-registered vessel, the Ever Gifted, unloaded cargo at Felixstowe on Wednesday after waiting in port for three days.

Rocketing shipping costs and a shortage of stock in the UK caused by Covid chaos in China and a log-jam at Felixstowe and Southampton container ports means that shoppers rushing to buy gifts in the week before Christmas Day are likely to pay more.  

The industry bodies want an inquiry into the problems and are calling on Boris Johnson to clear containers of PPE clogging up the docks and bring back more staff off furlough to ease congestion. They also want other ports such as Liverpool, Hull, Portsmouth, Tilbury and London Gateway to pick up more of the slack.