Michael Gove today admitted UK trade with the EU after Brexit will not be 'frictionless' as Boris Johnson prepares to ask Brussels for an 'off-the-shelf' future partnership agreement. Mr Gove, the minister for the Cabinet Office, said the government wanted trade with the bloc to be 'as frictionless as possible' as Britain gets ready to leave the EU at 11pm tonight. But he conceded that the UK's plan to diverge from some Brussels rules and regulations would mean the introduction of 'some bureaucratic processes there that aren’t there now'. Mr Gove said the EU had made clear that 'you can only have fully frictionless trade if you accept all of their rules' - something ministers have ruled out. Asked if he could guarantee that there would be frictionless trade after Brexit, Mr Gove replied: ‘No.

Source: Daily Mail January 31, 2020 09:00 UTC