A NO-DEAL Brexit would "condemn" the UK to years of negotiations with the EU, the Scottish Government 's Standing Council on Europe has said.

In an open letter to The Times, council chairman Sir Anton Muscatelli urged the UK Government to "go back to the drawing board" and come up with new proposals for the European Union.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon set up the council in 2016 to advise ministers on how to secure Scottish interests throughout the Brexit negotiations.

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According to Muscatelli, a No-Deal Brexit would mean years would have to be spent negotiating a trading arrangement with the European Union, and that could stop the UK from agreeing similar deals with other countries.

He said: "Far from putting an end to the pain of Brexit, the UK Government's approach risks condemning the country to years of further negotiations with the EU, in a poisoned atmosphere, while we suffer the consequences of having crashed out.

"Nor would it be the case that the UK could easily mitigate these consequences by quickly signing new trade deals with non-European countries, because of the impossibility of finalising its overall global trade policy until its trading relations with its closest and most important export market have been resolved."

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Muscatelli said the purpose of the letter was not to debate Brexit itself, but rather the possibility of the UK leaving without a deal.

He said: "We therefore urge the UK Government to go back to the drawing board and come up with proposals that address the concerns of European partners, including the Republic of Ireland, to form a realistic basis for reaching a deal that is in the interest of all sides."