Comments by UK chief Brexit negotiator, David Frost
Frost remarks in a tweet thread:
I look forward to welcoming @MichelBarnier and his team to London and to resuming face-to-face talks tomorrow. We are glad all are safe and well.
Some people are asking me why we are still talking. My answer is that it's my job to do my utmost to see if the conditions for a deal exist. It is late, but a deal is still possible, and I will continue to talk until it's clear that it isn't.
But for a deal to be possible it must fully respect UK sovereignty. That is not just a word - it has practical consequences. That includes: controlling our borders; deciding ourselves on a robust and principled subsidy control system; and controlling our fishing waters.
We look to reach an agreement on this basis, allowing the new beginning to our relationship with the EU which, for our part, we have always wanted. We will continue to work hard to get it - because an agreement on any other basis is not possible.
The narrative ahead of the talks in London is that the status quo remains and it is either both sides are still holding out or this just really good political theater. Either way, there isn't anything to get excited about in the next 24-36 hours at least.
That is likely tempering with the pound exuberance in trading today, with cable slipping and trading near the lows around 1.3320 levels currently.