UK ready to quit EU on 'Australia terms'

Britain will be ready to sever ties with the European Union "on Australia terms" if no deal on its future relationship with the bloc is reached, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki.

Britain left the EU on January 31 and agreed transitional arrangements are in place until December 31. A round of "intensified negotiations" is due to take place in July.

"He (Johnson) said the UK would negotiate constructively but equally would be ready to leave the transition period on Australia terms if agreement could not be reached," Johnson's Downing Street office said in a statement on Saturday.