THE European Union’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier told a forum in Slovenia on Monday that it was “realistic” to expect a divorce deal with Britain in six to eight weeks, the British embassy to Slovenia said on Twitter.

“I think that if we are realistic we are able to reach an agreement on the first stage of the negotiation, which is the Brexit treaty, within 6 or 8 weeks,” Mr Barnier said, according to an excerpt broadcast by Sky News.

“Taking into account the time necessary for the ratification process, the House of Commons on one side, the European Parliament and the Council on the other side … we must reach an agreement before the beginning of November. I think it is possible.”

Sterling jumped to a five-week high of $1.3052 ($A1.8321) on the report, up around 1 per cent on the day, and rose around 0.5 per cent against the euro.

Downing Street insists there is no alternative to UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s “Chequers” blueprint for Brexit amid warnings she risks a “catastrophic split” in the Tory Party if she continues with the plan.

With 200 days until Britain leaves the EU, former Brexit minister Steve Baker, who quit over the proposals earlier this year, said he was “gravely concerned” for the future of the party if she were to press ahead.

Mr Baker, a leading figure in the pro-Brexit Tory European Research Group, said the party’s annual conference in Birmingham on September 30 could prove a decisive moment as Ms May is forced to acknowledge the scale of grassroots opposition to her proposals.

Number 10, however, said critics of the plan had yet to come forward with a credible alternative which would avoid the return of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.

Justice Secretary David Gauke said “an overwhelming majority within the Conservative Party” backed the government’s approach.

“There isn’t an alternative credible plan out there,” he told BBC’s Radio 4. “I think that it is absolutely right that the Cabinet and the parliamentary party backs the prime minister. In challenging circumstances she is the right person to deliver the right deal for this country.”

BORIS JOHNSON LAUNCHES NEW ATTACK ON MAY
Boris Johnson launched another broadside against Theresa May on Monday amid rumours that he is preparing a leadership bid as Brexit tensions divide their party.

Rumours about the former foreign minister’s marital infidelities also swirled, with his allies accusing government officials of leaking information to undermine Mr Johnson’s chances.

Mr Johnson urged Mrs May to give Britain a post-Brexit economic boost by committing to not raising taxes or introducing new taxes, saying she should follow US president Donald Trump’s example.

“Now is the time for this Conservative government to show how a post-Brexit Britain will be a happy and dynamic economy,” he wrote in his weekly column in The Daily Telegraph.

The centre-right newspaper said that Mr Johnson’s remarks “will do little to dampen speculation that he is preparing to make his pitch to take over as Conservative leader”.

Mr Johnson resigned from the government in July over Mrs May’s plan for Britain to retain close trade ties with the EU after Brexit.

The plan is known as “Chequers” after the prime minister’s country retreat where it was agreed at a cabinet meeting.

Steve Baker, a former junior Brexit minister who also resigned over the plan, on Monday warned that the Conservative Party faced a “catastrophic split” if May sticks to it.

But May’s spokesman on Monday said it was “the only plan on the table” after opponents failed to propose alternatives.

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Johnson said the government’s strategy put the country in a “suicide vest” with Brussels holding the detonator.

“This is not a language that the prime minister would choose to use. Beyond that, I don’t plan on giving this article further oxygen,” the prime minister’s spokesman said.

The spokesman also rejected as “categorically untrue and offensive” accusations from Mr Johnson’s supporters that Downing Street had leaked details of his marital indiscretions.

The Daily Mail and The Sun reported that Johnson had gone on “a series of high-class dates” with former Conservative Party communications director Carrie Symonds who quit her job abruptly last month.

Some of the lurid details were said to have come from a dossier compiled by Mrs May’s office in 2016 when she was competing with Mr Johnson for the Conservative leadership.

Following a series of revelations, Mr Johnson last week said that he and Marina Wheeler, his wife of 25 years, were divorcing.

EU PORTS FEAR “CLIFF-EDGE” BREXIT TRADE CHAOS
With arms flailing and raised voices, a shipping manager and a customs chief in the Belgian port of Zeebrugge talk through all the things that could go wrong if the Brexit talks fail:

Trucks backed up for miles on the highway; car manufacturing plants idle as deliveries are delayed; mountains of paperwork paralysing small companies that can’t afford teams of lawyers.

Not since the 1970s have port towns like this had to deal with customs in their massive trade with Britain, and that could change on Brexit day on March 30, 2019.

Britain and the European Union are struggling to agree on the terms of business after that date, raising the chances of a sudden return of tariffs and border controls.

And while Brexit has not so far been a big concern for many people in continental Europe, the prospect of there being no deal is starting to unnerve companies and authorities — particularly in places like ports that operate on the front lines of global trade.

CEO of the Port of Zeebrugge, Belgium, Joachim Coens, is working with companies and customs officials at the port to prepare for the transition.

Kristian Vanderwaeren, the administrator-general of Belgian customs, says, “It’s a huge, huge problem,” he says.

Ominous warnings of what would happen if trade is suddenly disrupted between Britain and the EU have dominated headlines since the campaign before the Brexit vote in June 2016. The aim for both Britain and the EU is to agree on the terms of future trade as well as on two-year transition period after Brexit day that would give companies and governments more time to adapt to any new rules.

The lack of progress is raising the risk of Britain falling out with no agreed terms, a feared situation called a “hard,” “no-deal” or “cliff-edge” Brexit.

Everything from engine parts to orange juice is lined up for transport to Britain, part of the half trillion pounds ($A912 billion) in goods and services traded between the continent and the U.K. every year.

Zeebrugge is now the port that handles the most cars anywhere in the world, with about 2.8 million rolling through every year — 1 million of which are to and from Britain. The local authorities are getting ready for the worst of Brexit outcomes to protect that business.

Mr Coens says that if tariffs and customs checks on trade with Britain do in fact return, new digital technologies can be used to smoothen out border controls somewhat.

Speed of transport is also key, not just for perishable goods like food that can rot if left in containers but also for manufacturing products. Modern car plants, for example, do not store many parts on location, meaning their production schedule depends entirely on the timely delivery of the parts, often from various countries.

About 4,000 trucks drive through Zeebrugge to Britain, says Mr Coens. “If they are even blocked for a few hours then you have 60 kilometres of blockage,” said Mr Coens.