A pre-Brexit transition period that has been demanded by the City's financial services firms may never actually happen as the gap between the UK and European Union could be too wide to reach an agreement, the bloc's chief negotiator warned today.

In a press conference this lunchtime in Brussels, Michel Barnier said securing a transition period into Brexit "is not a given" as there were still "a number of disagreements that I consider substantial" between the UK and EU negotiators.