Stepping up pressure on the government, the BRC today warned that “time was running out” for a zero-tariff trade deal to be agreed. It said that failure to do so would lead to price increases being passed on to UK consumers.

In a new report published today, called Why Tariffs are Bad News for UK Consumers, the BRC said that in a no-deal scenario the average tariff on food imported from the EU would be over 20% and over 12% for clothing.