Business leaders warn Boris Johnson that Brexit deal is essential

Government told failure will damage UK economy as critical negotiations begin

Business leaders have warned Boris Johnson that securing a Brexit deal is essential for safeguarding Britain's economic recovery from the coronavirus outbreak and avoiding higher prices in the shops for British consumers.

Sounding the alarm after the prime minister said no deal would be a good outcome" for Britain and confirmed plans that could undermine the government's commitment to the EU withdrawal agreement, business groups said failure to compromise in talks this week would severely damage Britain's fragile economic recovery.