Chancellor: We need more than two years for Brexit deal

Would allow for 'smoother transition'

Chancellor Philip Hammond has warned the UK will not be able to leave the EU in just two years without posing a serious risk to a number of areas including financial stability.

The Chancellor is calling for a transitional deal to help ensure a "smooth" Brexit, with "less risks of disruption" just a week after Michael Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator for Brexit, said a deal should be reached by October 2018. In favour of prolonging the negotiations, Hammond suggested paying for access to the single market for around two years after leaving the EU, according to The Telegraph. The Treasury Select Committee defines transitional arrangements as "any arrangement that takes effect between the point at which the UK formally leaves the EU...