BORIS Johnson will not extend the Brexit transition period which is due to end at the end of December despite the outbreak of the coronavirus.

The Prime Minister’s spokesperson was asked whether the UK could remain aligned to EU regulations into 2021 following the crisis which has provoked worldwide economic uncertainty. He said there were no plans to extend the Brexit transition period in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

“The [EU trade] talks are progressing exactly as planned ... Both sides are very aware of the timetable that they are working to.”

The call to extend the transition period was made yesterday by Labour leadership hopeful Lisa Nandy who urged the Prime Minister to avoid “narrow partisan ideology” and ask Brussels to extend the post-Brexit period of close alignment beyond the end of 2020.

She said the move would be in the interests of public health, the health of UK citizens living in the EU and would help protect businesses already facing significant uncertainty from the coronavirus.

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Trade talks with the EU have already begun, and Downing Street has ruled out extending the transition period in the wake of the global spread of Covid-19. Chancellor Rishi Sunak this weekend said the public was “fed up having more delays”.

But, writing in The Guardian yesterday, Nandy argued that such a move could soften the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on businesses.

“British companies who trade with the EU do not know what terms they’ll be trading on in 10 months’ time,” she said.

“Add to this the falling demand and disruption created by coronavirus and it is reasonable to expect many businesses will not survive. The transition period was agreed in the UK’s divorce deal with the EU last year, and sees Britain remain a member of the single market and the customs union until the end of this year.

But Nandy warned: “The Government has boxed itself into a corner by legislating to end the transition period in December come what may. It now faces a direct choice between narrow partisan ideology and the interests of the nation. An extension will mean that British citizens living abroad will be able to access free healthcare for at least another year, that we are able to continue to access the early warning and response system [EWRS] that helped us coordinate Sars and bird flu.

“Public safety is at stake. This must happen now.”

Amid continued market turmoil over the spread of the disease, Nandy called for a “long-term approach to this crisis”, including the setting up of an “emergency economic council” involving experts with experience of the 2008 financial crisis.

The MP also urged the Chancellor to slash VAT in today’s Budget and allow struggling firms to defer payments to help them stay “afloat”. Global stock markets tumbled on Monday wiping around £125 billion off the value of the FTSE 100 index of leading shares as concerns about the coronavirus and the plunge in the crude price following a spat between Saudi Arabia and Russia caused panic.

News that Italy had decided to quarantine 16 million citizens in the north of the country to try to slow the rapid spread of the coronavirus heightened fears it could trigger a global recession.

The coronavirus outbreak has already had a devastating impact on China, where it began, the effects of which have been reverberating around the world

The price of a barrel of Brent Crude fell 30% initially, before settling at around 20% down on a day earlier, at $36.10 per barrel. It has fallen by almost 50% this year. The fall reflects concern global supplies of crude are set to run well ahead of demand.