Irish PM Varadkar: No-deal becomes more likely as time goes on

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar crossed the wires in the last minutes, reiterating that the odds of the UK leaving the EU without a deal become more likely as time goes on. Below are some key quotes as reported by Reuters.

"I don't accept no-deal is unavoidable."

"Withdrawal agreement is closed."

"We can make changes to political declaration and make clarifications."

"There will be several years of negotiations after Brexit."

"First negotiations after no-deal Brexit will be financial settlement, people and Northern Irish border."

"If there is a Brexit deal we can then speak about a free trade agreement."

"We are still in discussions with European Commission about how to deal with no-deal Brexit."

"I would not like Brexit to bring constitutional questions to the fore but that is what will happen if there is a no-deal."

"Backstop and Withdrawal Agreement were agreed by EU and UK."

The market reaction to these comments seems to be weighing on the GBP/USD pair, which was last up 0.28% on the day at 1.2175.