Britain on the verge of trade deal with EU

Latest updates and essential advice from The Independent [View in browser]( [Alternate text] Daily briefing December 24, 2020 Today’s essential news from the source you trust This morning’s headlines Boris Johnson was [on the brink of signing a trade agreement with the European Union]( – days before Britain severs ties with the bloc. One senior EU diplomat said an accord was “imminent”, while another official told The Independent: “We are in the end phase now.” The mood in Brussels and London shifted further towards an agreement, following news both sides had reached compromises on a number of the remaining issues. A French source boasted the British had made “huge concessions” in areas like fishing that cleared the way to an agreement. It comes after chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier said he had done all he could to resolve fishing as an issue and handed the final phase over to Ursula von der Leyen and Mr Johnson to negotiate directly. Matt Hancock said [large areas of southeast England would go into the toughest tier 4 restrictions from Boxing Day](, and announced a "highly concerning" new variant of Covid-19 from South Africa had been detected in the UK. More than 24 million people are set to start the new year under "stay at home" orders, as the government admitted its previous three-tier system was not strong enough to prevent the spread of a separate strain of coronavirus thought – like the South African strain – to be far more infectious than the original virus. Mr Hancock also announced a temporary travel ban on South Africa and ordered anyone who has recently arrived from or had contact with someone from the country to quarantine for two weeks. Food producers [face a “black Christmas” with stocks perishing due to a backlog of lorries in Kent]( which is not being resolved quickly enough, an industry boss said. Freight began moving on Wednesday morning after France lifted a ban on inbound traffic from the UK. But delays continued as thousands of drivers had to be tested for Covid-19 before transporting cargo across the channel. With hauliers saying the gridlock would take days to clear, some exporters will not be able to get their goods to customers in time, said Food and Drink Federation Scotland's CEO David Thomson. He 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." . We need your support The Independent employs over 100 journalists around the world to bring you news you can trust. Please consider showing your support with a contribution. [Contribute]( . Top stories [Germany airlifting food to Yorkshire due to Channel blockage]( [Trump pardons Roger Stone, Paul Manafort and Kushner's father]( [Putin gives all Russian presidents immunity from prosecution]( . Your trusted guide through a changing world Subscribe to Independent Premium for unrivalled clarity [Get 3 months for £3]( . More news - ['Mom, we need food': Thousands in South Sudan near famine]( - [Media, NGO offices taken over by government in Nicaragua]( - [Argentine man cleared in deadly bombing at Jewish center]( - [Pardons in killings of Iraqi civilians stir angry response]( - [VIRUS TODAY: Vaccine deal reached, jobless claims still high]( . News you can trust The Independent has a 100% NewsGuard trust rating [NewsGuard] [Find out more]( . If you can spare two minutes we’d love to hear your [feedback]( on our newsletters [Alternate text] Join the conversation or follow us [Twitter]( [Facebook]( Please do not reply directly to this email You are currently registered to receive The Independent's News email. Add us to your safe list of senders. If you do not want to receive The Independent News email and Breaking News alerts, please [unsubscribe](list_name=IND_Headlines_Masterlist_CDP). If you no longer wish to receive any newsletters or promotional emails from The Independent, you can unsubscribe [here](. This e-mail was sent by Independent Digital News and Media Ltd, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5HF. Registered in England and Wales with company number 07320345. Read our [privacy notice]( and [cookie policy](.