Addressing the impact of COVID-19 on the negotiations, Rycroft indicated more concern that COVID-19 has slowed preparations for the end of the transition period, compared with any impact it has had on the negotiations themselves:
My worry about capacity is not so much about the negotiations—they are always handled by a relatively small team in Whitehall, and likewise in the European Commission—but about the wider effort to support businesses to get ready and ensure that the UK Government systems for running the new...