Britain and the European Union are so far apart in post-Brexit trade talks that there is scant likelihood of a deal when Prime Minister Boris Johnson meets European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday, a French official said.

“The probability of a no-deal is increasing,” the official said.

He said that direct talks between Johnson and President Emmanuel Macron were not desirable as France had total trust in the EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier.

“We have total trust in Ursula von der Leyen and Michel Barnier”, the official said. “They know exactly what we want.”

Johnson told the EU earlier on Wednesday that it must scrap demands that he said were unacceptable if there was to be a Brexit trade deal and avoid a turbulent break-up in three weeks.

By Michel Rose; editors: by Richard Lough and Gareth Jones.