UK Government Denies Claims of Plans for Closer Ties With EU

Union and European Union flags are flown in unison during an anti-Brexit demonstration outside the Houses of Parliament in London, on June 20, 2018. Niklas Halle'n/AFP/Getty Images

The British government has said reports that it is seeking a “Swiss-style” relationship with the EU are “categorically untrue.”

It follows a report in The Sunday Times that claimed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was considering building a closer economic relationship with the bloc in a bid to avoid trade barriers, a suggestion which attracted fierce criticism from eurosceptics within the party.