Britain could be heading for a no-deal Brexit within days as make-or-break talks entered the final stretch.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the EU trade talks were entering “the last week” and the fraught issue of fishing rights remains an “outstanding major bone of contention”. 

He told Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday: “I do think we’re in a reasonable position - there’s a deal to be done. 

“If you look really at what the outstanding issues are, of course the level playing field, but it feels like there is progress towards greater respect for what the UK position was. 

“On fishing there’s a point of principle: as we leave the EU we’re going to be an independent coastal state and we’ve got to be able to control our waters.” 

He rubbished proposals reportedly put forward by Brussels for the UK to accept 18% of fishing quotas, saying: “That can’t be right.”

The suggestion has enraged the UK side, with a source branding the proposal as “risible”.

But Mr Raab said the UK was prepared to “talk about transitions and things like that” on fishing rights.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab (
Image:
NurPhoto/PA Images)

Mr Raab sought to blame the EU for “shifting the goalposts” - despite the fact that Boris Johnson ’s self-imposed deadline of mid-October was missed.

Labour ’s Jim McMahon said his party wanted to see an agreement as no-deal would wreak havoc on the British economy.

“We want to see a deal, it would cause untold economic harm if we were to leave without a deal,” the Shadow Transport Secretary said. 

“It’s not what the EU want, it's certainly not what the Irish Government want and it’s definitely not what we want, so we do want to see a deal, but until we see the construct of a deal, we can’t confirm our support for it.”

Talks are going down to the wire, with just weeks to go until the end of the Brexit transition period in December.

Labour's Jim McMahon (
Image:
Manchester Evening News)

If an agreement cannot be reached, both sides will have to trade on tariff-heavy World Trade Organisation terms - effectively a no-deal Brexit.  

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has been locked in talks with his UK counterpart Lord Frost over the weekend amid reports the European Commission was starting to lean on officials to get an agreement.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is being “very helpful”, according to a Government source.

But despite the positive noises, a source warned that a no-deal Brexit was being “arguably underpriced.”

A source close to the negotiations said: “Over the coming days we will continue to negotiate with creativity and intensity. 

“We hope that the EU will come with some fresh thinking because what we’ve seen so far doesn’t cut it. 

“They must understand that we are not going to sell out our sovereignty.”

Face-to-face meetings resumed on Friday after a coronavirus case forced the Brussels team into isolation.