Boris Johnson has said the EU must bring something to the table in Brexit trade negotiations, threatening that the UK will leave without a deal if Brussels does not move negotiations forward.

“Our door is open, we’ll keep talking but I have to say things are looking difficult, there’s a gap that needs to be bridged,” the prime minister told the BBC moments ago.

“We hope that our EU friends will see sense and come to the table with something themselves.

“And, if that doesn’t happen, then come 1 January we will be trading on WTO terms.”

Chief negotiator on the EU side, Michel Barnier, took to the floor of the European Parliament chamber earlier to warn that there were “just hours” to reach agreement in Brexit trade talks.

“I cannot say what will come in this last home straight of negotiations. We have to be prepared for all eventualities.”

Guy Verhofstadt also asked EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier to extend the Erasmus scheme to UK students after Brexit, arguing that Britain’s younger generation is “pro-European”.

British students currently stand to lose access to Erasmus, which makes it easier to study abroad, as continued participation in the scheme has not been agreed in negotiations between the UK and EU, according to EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier.

Guy Verhofstadt, former Brexit coordinator for the EU, took to the floor in the European Parliament moments ago to share his “optimism” over Brexit negotiations, stating: “I think there will be a deal because it is in the interests of both parties for there to be a deal.”

Earlier today he was caught by Sky News entering the parliament building and shared a few thoughts on the possible outcome: “As always in politics, it happens at the end.” 

“If you give a lot of time to politicians, they will run the whole period and only then make the deal.”

Britain’s biggest business lobby has called on the EU to delay customs checks after Brexit to allow firms more time to prepare.

Questions over IT, new tariffs and cross-border staff are all “without answers” the CBI said in a report published as negotiations over a trade deal between the UK and EU entered their final hours.

“With time so short, both sides need to build on this support and take steps to minimise disruption no matter the outcome. Without them, much of the progress made recovering from the pandemic will be lost,” the report said.

The CBI also published a series of recommendations on customs, movement and regulation of goods, data, employees and services after Brexit.

The Swiss government announced it will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the UK on mobility and migration.

The document is not legally binding but signals future cooperation on the matter of immigration between the two countries after freedom of movement between Switzerland and the EU no longer applies to Britain after Brexit.

For the next year at least, the Swiss government decided unilaterally that a maximum of 3,500 UK nationals will be permitted to work in Switzerland but future quotas may be up for discussion with UK counterparts.

Dublin MEP Barry Andrews suggested keeping a symbolic empty chair in the European Parliament for Britain’s former and, as he hopes, future members as he lamented the UK’s departure.

Addressing the European Parliament chamber, The Fianna Fail politician said the EU had helped to bring about a “golden age” in relations between the UK and Ireland starting with accession in 1973, where the pair joined up on the same day, to the Good Friday Agreement and maintaining peace on the island of Ireland.

MEPs are currently taking to the floor in the chamber for remarks on further relations between Britain and the EU as Brexit talks enter their final hours.

Our resident travel expert Simon Calder has put together a guide to travelling across the EU border after Brexit:

The chief executive of the Port of Dover called for urgent government support to prevent hold-ups as changes to border rules approach with Brexit.

The government turned down a request for £33m in funding for passport checks on people leaving Dover earlier this week, instead allocating only one-hundredth of the requested amount.

“We are trying to move ourselves through the greatest period of uncertainty that this facility has seen,” Port of Dover chief Doug Bannister told the BBC.

“Being denied the funding for this programme – what that does mean is that we could see increased friction and increased hold ups while we get through the opening period of the transition.”

Shortly after Bannister’s plea, the chief executive of the port in Calais said he is prepared for the return of customs checks.

“Brexit is not synonymous with chaos, Brexit is not synonymous with a snarling up of traffic,” Calais port chief Jean-Marc Puissesseau told Reuters. “If customs declarations are done as they should be, ahead of time, I don’t see a problem.”

Warning that the path to a Brexit trade agreement was very narrow as trade talks enter their final hours, Michel Barnier said “the moment of truth” had arrived. 

“We have very little time remaining, just a few hours to work through these negotiations in a useful fashion if we want this agreement to enter into force on 1 January,” Barnier told MEPs just now.

 “It’s a question of whether the UK will leave in a few days, 10 days or so, if they are going to leave the single market, the customs union, with an agreement, or without an agreement.”