CBI chief fires parting shot over slow pace of Brexit negotiations

Carolyn Fairbairn says the UK economy is in suspended animation' while issue remain unresolved

The head of the UK's leading employers' organisation has stepped up pressure on the government to conclude trade talks with the EU so that the country can move on from the suspended animation" of the past four years.

Reflecting on her five years as director general of the CBI, Dame Carolyn Fairbairn said her biggest regret was that the issue had not been resolved earlier and warned ministers that businesses grappling with Covid-19 were unprepared for a hard Brexit.