UK committed to Brexit talks with EU

Britain is absolutely committed to continuing negotiations with the European Union on their future relationship, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson says, repeating that the government did not intend to extend the transition period.

"It's set out in UK law that the transition period ends on December 31," the spokesman told reporters on Monday, adding that both sides "provided clarifications" on their respective texts last week.

Britain's chief negotiator will talk to the deputy head of the EU's taskforce by telephone, he said, adding: "We remain absolutely committed to continuing the negotiations."