UK's Frost: 'working very hard' on Brexit deal

Britain’s main Brexit trade deal negotiator, David Frost, said "we are still working very hard" ahead of a day expected to be one of the most intense days in the long-running Brexit trade negotiations. Monday started off with little good news about any progress Monday, with the United Kingdom and the European Union seemingly still stuck on the same issues that have dogged the standoff for months.

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier held a pre-dawn briefing with ambassadors of the 27 member states to see if a deal is still possible with London ahead of the January 1 deadline, but had no news of a breakthrough.

In the evening, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will have his second phone call with EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in barely 48 hours, to decide whether to pull the plug on an agreement that could cost hundreds of thousands of jobs on both sides and disrupt cross-Channel trade for years to come. 

(Image Credits: AP)