The United Kingdom (UK) will work flat out for a Brexit trade deal and the two sides are in "tunnel" negotiations but if a deal with the European Union is not possible then the country will be prepared, UK interior minister (Home Secretary) Priti Patel said on Thursday.

Priti Patel official quote through radio broadcast reads: "First of all, the prime minister and the government, we've all been very clear we are not walking away, we will continue to negotiate to get this free-trade agreement. We are in that tunnel of negotiation and our teams continue to work incredibly hard,"

The "tunnel" is a term for an intense final stage of secretive, make-or-break negotiations. Patel said negotiators were working "flat out" to secure a deal, but the government was very clear it would not compromise the country's independence or sovereignty.

Britain formally left the European Union on January 31 but has been in a transition period since then under which rules on trade, travel and business remain unchanged. It finally exits the bloc's single market and customs union on Dec. 31. Failure to agree a deal would erect trade barriers between the EU and Britain, snarl borders, send shockwaves through financial markets and cause chaos in supply chains across Europe as it also struggles with COVID-19.

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