Sixty pro-Brexit former cabinet ministers, lawmakers, economists and business leaders have urged UK authorities "to accelerate their preparations for 'no deal' [Brexit] and a move to a World Trade Deal under WTO rules."
In an open letter, they made it plain that Prime Minister Theresa May should to be ready to withdraw the UK from the EU without clinching a trade agreement, in the face of warnings that the "no-deal" Brexit would lead to an economic catastrophe.
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"Britain is a great champion of free trade and looks forward to striking free trade deals with countries beyond the shores of the continent, once Brexit has taken effect," the letter read.
The authors of the letter also insisted that the UK should exert pressure on Brussels by threatening to withhold a 39 billion pound (2 billion dollar) divorce bill it has already agreed to pay.
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The letter came after more than 100,000 people took part in the UK Unity and Freedom march in London to mark two years since the historic Brexit referendum on Britain's withdrawal from the EU.
The Brexit talks officially kicked off in June 2017 and are slated to be completed by the end of March 2019. A transition period, which stipulates Britain remaining in the single market and customs union, is expected to last until the end of 2020.
