The European Commission has agreed that the transition period to a new post-Brexit relationship being sought by the UK should last until the end of 2020, chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said, which is less than the expected two years.

The 28 commissioners, including Jean-Claude Juncker, its President, met today to approve guidelines for the EU's negotiating position on the transition drawn up by Mr Barnier, which would see Britain observe EU rules and regulations following the date of Brexit in March 2019 while having no role in deciding them.

In a Brussels press conference, the EU’s chief negotiator repeated the commission's position that this must include accepting the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice and continuing to allow free movement of people to settle and work until the end of the period.

In her speech in Florence in September, Theresa May suggested that what she referred to as an "implementation period" should last for around two years, potentially stretching into spring 2021.

But Mr Barnier said the Commission had agreed that the best date to end the transition would be on December 31 2020, which marks the end of the EU's multi-year budget. This would mean a transition of about 21 months.