THE issue of a “level playing field” currently remains the most difficult sticking point in negotiations between Britain and the European Union, the government said today.

Answering Labour’s urgent question on the negotiations, Paymaster General Penny Mordaunt said that Britain would be prepared to leave the EU on “Australian-style terms” — similar to a no-deal scenario — when the transition period ends in just over three weeks.

The bulk of EU-Australia trade is currently done according to World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.