As talks with Brussels resumed by video conference after a six-week standstill generated by the coronavirus pandemic, Boris Johnson has warned EU leaders they will have to change their stance if there is any hope for a post-Brexit trade deal, according to the Financial Times.

Time is fast running out, as a decision on extension of the 31 December 2020 deadline for the transition period must be taken by the end of June, according to the terms of the divorce deal.

As both sides mull over whether an agreement is possible, it is suggested that while Downing Street is still inclined to believe the negotiations might continue, an agreement is unlikely unless it stipulates recognition of the UK’s status as “an independent state”.

A Downing Street official was cited by the Financial Times as suggesting that heads of government might be called upon to urge Brussels to revise its negotiating terms, adding:

“Clearly there will need to be some political movement on the EU side.”A day earlier, Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove told MPs on the Future Relationship with the EU Committee on 27 April that the economic and health crisis triggered by the coronavirus was no excuse to seek an extension to the country’s post-Brexit transition period.

“Coronavirus in some respects should concentrate the minds of EU negotiators in underlining the importance of coming to a conclusion,” said Gove.Emphasising that the UK had no wish to be tied to EU rules and regulations beyond 31 December, Gove added that years of Brexit talks with Brussels had made it clear that “whenever a deadline was extended, the light at the end of the tunnel was replaced by more tunnel”.

Gove warned that a prolongation of the transition period would force the UK to make a financial contribution to the EU budget that “could be spent on our NHS” and comply with newly-adopted European laws “over which we would have no say”.

“We believe it is still entirely possible to conclude negotiations on the timetable that has been outlined,” said Gove.