Responding to TánaisteSimon Coveney’s remarks that progress in negotiations to reach a post-Brexit trade deal “has not been good”, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs and Brexit spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said: “Unless the Government does the right thing and extends the transition period we risk crashing out without a trade deal, inflicting a double whammy just as we try to recover from the current crisis.
“The NHS, food supply chains and the economy are all already under huge amounts of pressure. People are rightly worried about their jobs and their loved ones. We need to put Brexit issues to one side for now in order to focus on protecting the most vulnerable.”