Jean-Claude Juncker: UK will leave EU by 31 January

The outgoing European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has told the BBC he believes the UK will leave the EU by 31 January 2020, the end of the current extension period.

He told BBC Europe Editor Katya Adler that Brexit is "a too-long story that has to be brought to an end".

On Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s claim that he will negotiate a trade deal with the EU before the end of December 2020, Mr Juncker said some UK MPs think negotiating a deal will be easy, but discussions with Canada "took years".

And he said he did not think Labour’s pledge to renegotiate the withdrawal agreement if it wins a majority in the general election was a realistic approach - although this would be an issue for his successor.