UK prime minister Boris Johnson has said a Brexit trade deal can still be done by the end of the year, but warned he would not compromise on key issues like fishing rights, reports theScotsman.

He was speaking out after Brussels chief negotiator Michel Barnier said a trade deal between the UK and the EU was "unlikely" before the end of the year when the post-Brexit transition phase comes to an end.

The UKs chief negotiator David Frost also admitted after the latest round of talks that a deadline for a breakthrough by the end of July would be missed, adding that "we must face the possibility that one will not be reached".

But Johnson said he was hopeful a deal could be done before the end of 2020.

"[EU chiefs] are thinking 'my goodness thats a tall order'. But actually [no compromise on fisheries] is the right thing for the UK. In the early 1970s, we basically handed over control of our fisheries, we gave up our fisheries in the last throes of the Heath negotiations in a way that permanently disadvantaged UK fishers and Scottish fishers as well. Nows the time to change that and change that back."

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UK PM again insists fishing rights will not be traded in Brexit deal - Undercurrent News