SNP MPs have urged the UK Government to request an extension to Brexit talks after the third round of negotiations finished without significant progress.

The Conservative government must do "the only responsible thing" and extend the transition period, accordind to the SNP as a new poll suggests the majority of the population support an extension.

The survey was conducted by Focaldata for Best For Britain, a cross-party group campaigning for close UK.-EU relations.

It shows 83% of Scots and 77% of people across the UK want Westminster officials to request an extension, including 61% of Tory voters and 57% of those who voted to leave the EU in 2016.

SNP Shadow International Trade Secretary Stewart Hosie MP said: "It's clear from the polls that an overwhelming majority of people want the Tory government to agree an extension to the Brexit transition period - that is the only responsible thing to do.

"It would be reckless in the extreme for Boris Johnson to impose a hard Brexit in the middle of a global pandemic and economic crisis.

"Millions of people and businesses are already struggling to get by. We cannot afford to pile a Tory-made disaster on top - dealing another hammer blow to the Scottish and UK economy at the worst possible time.

"The Prime Minister must put his responsibilities to the economy first and accept the two-year extension of offer from the EU - to protect people's jobs, businesses and living standards."

It comes after the UK's chief negotiator David Frost said today that talks had become "tetchier" compared to when they first started, and that the UK could walk away without a deal if the EU did not change its stance on creating a 'level playing field'.

The problem the UK has with the suggestion is that it would have to abide by EU laws and standards over significant issues such as fishing, which it does not agree with.

Mr Frost has vowed to publish the UK's draft legal documents on negotiations so other EU members can see what they are asking for, and has suggested the EU is asking for more from the UK than from other sovereign countries which have free trade agreements.

In a briefing this afternoon, a senior UK government official told journalists: " The tetchiness could be a sign of difficulty, it also could be a sign that you're actually getting closer, to beginning to understand, and I have seen some signs of that in this round.

" We've always made clear that if an agreement can be reached then trading on what we call 'Australia terms' is perfectly doable and satisfactory but we have also always made clear that we want to try and get a deal and that's what we are trying hard to do."