The freight crisis caused by the French travel ban has drawn attention to how much the UK relies on food imports, with supermarkets warning about potential shortages of some items after Christmas. 

The Independent’s economics editor Ben Chu takes a closer look at the country’s food imports: 

The chief spokesperson for European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has played on the suspense of those waiting for a Brexit deal announcement. 

Along with a picture of some pizza boxes, Eric Mamer tweeted: “Is it Frutti di mare? Or Bismarck? Or good old 4 stagione? Suspense…” 

Talks are currently being held at the Berlaymont building in Brussels. 

The UK and the EU are on the brink of an agreement, reports Jon Stone.

Confirming the speculation, one official told The Independent: “We are in the end phase now.” 

Pictures show pizzas being delivered to the EU Commission building in Brussels, where UK and EU negotiators are allegedly on the cusp of reaching a Brexit deal. 

“Sign of a long night still ahead?” asks the BBC’s Kate Vandy. 

The UK and the EU have “tentatively” struck a post-Brexit free trade deal, two senior EU diplomats have told DW.

The claim comes hours after reports suggested that the two sides were nearing an agreement. 

The Tory European Research Group (ERG) of pro-Brexit Conservative MPs has insisted it will examine any trade agreement in detail if a deal is reached tonight between London and Brussels.

The body said it would reconvene its so-called “star chamber” to examine any deal.

A statement issued by the group on Wednesday said: “Assuming a deal between UK and the EU is officially confirmed tonight, the European Research Group will tomorrow reconvene the panel of legal experts, chaired by Sir William Cash MP, to examine the details of the deal and legal text.

“The team of highly-experienced lawyers, previously known as the ‘star chamber’, was first assembled in 2019 to examine the legal aspects of Theresa May’s original Withdrawal Agreement.

“Given that the new agreement is also highly complex, the star chamber will scrutinise it in detail, to ensure that its provisions genuinely protect the sovereignty of the United Kingdom after we exit the transition period at the end of this year.

“The star chamber, which will include some new members to replace those now in Government, will undertake its examination as expeditiously as possible before providing its conclusions on the merits of the deal – which we will aim to make public before Parliament reconvenes.”

Scotland’s rural economy secretary has called for an extension to the end of the Brexit transition period with the EU to give companies with time to adapt and eliminate any further disastrous disruption at ports affecting UK businesses and consumers.

In a letter to the UK government, Fergus Ewing also reiterated calls for the prioritisation approach for fresh and live seafood and day-old chicks as France today reopened its border to lorry drivers travelling from the UK.

He wrote: “We need urgent support for businesses that stand to lose hundreds of thousands of pounds because they have missed Christmas delivery deadlines due to the closure of the ports or the products were ruined in transit.

“In a year where the food and drink sector has been absolutely devastated by the impacts of Covid, they do not need this loss to top it off.

“Industry estimate that £5 million of food should be moving from Scotland into France every day this week. They need the UK Government to prioritise products that are likely to spoil if they are made to wait and they need that to happen now.”

British food producers face a rough Christmas as goods are expected to perish amid the travel chaos in Kent, reports Ben Chu.

Although France has now lifted its ban on UK freight, the backlog of lorries in Kent is expect to take at least a few days to clear.

David Thomson, the chief executive of the Food and Drink Federation Scotland (FDFS), told the BBC: “For those people who export fresh and perishable goods, particularly seafood and salmon in Scotland, it’s been an absolutely disastrous few days and it will lead to a black Christmas for those businesses.” 

The pound has climbed against both the dollar and the euro today, after sources said the UK is close to reaching a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU. 

Some commentators have suggested that an agreement is now imminent, as we await confirmation from Brussels or Downing Street.  

As we await more news from Brussels, here’s our policy correspondent Jon Stone with an explainer on what Brexit means for Northern Ireland: