The Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that the outcome of years of negotiating the UK's withdrawal from the European Union (EU) would likely be known later today (Sunday, December 13).

Speaking to Sky News this morning, the Esher and Walton MP said that Prime Minister Boris Johnson would speak with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the (European) Commission, on Sunday afternoon to discuss whether negotiations between EU and UK representatives had breached several key sticking points that remain before a trade deal is agreed on.

"There's a conversation that Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the (European) Commission, will have with the Prime Minister later today - that's when we'll know," Raab said.

"But I think we need to be really clear there's two fundamental issues at stake - the issue of fisheries and the issue of the so-called level playing field.

"We want to be treated like any other independent self-respecting democracy. If the EU can accept that at a political level then there's every reason to be confident, but there is still I think a long way to go."

The foreign secretary added that there was no exact time he could give for the phone call between Boris Johnson and Europe's top official Ursula von der Leyen, saying it would take place "later on today".

He told Sky News' Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: "The exact time is not quite clear yet but it'll happen later on today."

Boris Johnson said earlier this week that a "no-deal" scenario in which no agreement is reached between the EU and UK was now "very likely", a possibility that has been slammed by opposition politicians from Labour, the SNP and others, plus a number of Conservative backbenchers and many on the EU negotiating team.

Spain's foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez said a no-deal outcome to the post-Brexit trade talks should be avoided "at all costs".

She told Sky News' Sophy Ridge On Sunday: "No-deal in the current circumstances would be extremely negative for our economies.

"And if you go by what economists are saying, and there is plenty of literature on that, the UK would suffer even more than the European Union.

"We both will suffer, more on the UK side, which I think is something we should try to avoid at all costs."

Boris Johnson was elected Prime Minister in December last year after promising an "oven-ready" deal between the UK and EU.

However, negotiations have proved the claim invalid as negotiations continue to be fraught with difficulties amid the approaching deadline set by both sides for the end of the year and, in practical terms, on Sunday.

Britain's former ambassador to the EU meanwhile said a deal may yet be reached by the end of the year but was unlikely later today.

Sir Ivan Rogers told Sky News' Sophy Ridge: "It's a very different question as to whether we get it by the end of the year.

"I think it's odds against today, but I'm not sure the talks will break down today either.

"Most of these deadlines in Brexit over many years have carried on being broken and I suspect this might be the latest, but we will see."

News Shopper: Shadow business secretary Ed Miliband arrives at BBC Broadcasting House. Image: Aaron Chown/PA WireShadow business secretary Ed Miliband arrives at BBC Broadcasting House. Image: Aaron Chown/PA Wire

Shadow business secretary Ed Miliband said a no-deal Brexit would be "a disastrous outcome for the country".

Mr Miliband told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: "What the Government seems to be saying is we are willing to accept no-deal, which would mean tariffs across the board, because of some future, theoretical threat maybe sometime in the future to have tariffs in relation to some products.

"That makes no sense at all. That is like saying I'm worried that my roof is going to leak in five years' time, so let's bulldoze the house now.

"I say, no-deal is a disastrous outcome for the country, it is not a wonderful outcome and it is a disgrace frankly that Boris Johnson said it."

Asked if Labour would vote for a deal if it were achieved, Mr Miliband said his party will "look at the detail".

Pushed further, he added: "We've said we're minded to support it."