His downbeat prediction contrasted sharply with remarks by the EU’s chief negotiator suggesting there had been good progress. Both sides are trying to prevent a turbulent finale to four years of tortuous discussions, Trend reports citing Reuters.
Optimism had been rising that a deal was imminent to keep the goods trade that makes up half of annual EU-UK commerce, worth nearly a trillion dollars in all, free of tariffs and quotas beyond Dec. 31.
But both sides say there are still gaps to be bridged and it was so far unclear whether either would shift far enough to open the way for a breakthrough.
EU diplomatic sources said the 27 member states would get an update on Friday, although they suggested any decision on a deal was more likely to come on Saturday.
Earlier, British interior minister Priti Patel said the talks had entered the “tunnel” - EU jargon for the final, secretive make-or-break phase - and EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier tweeted: “Good progress, but last stumbling blocks remain.”
But Gove, who oversaw the implementation of an earlier divorce deal, told a parliamentary committee: “I think that regrettably the chances are more likely that we won’t secure an agreement.”
He put the probability at “less than 50%”, adding that, if the British parliament did not have time to pass the deal into law by Dec. 31, “then the clock has run out and no agreement would have been reached and we will be in a world where we will be trading on WTO (World Trade Organization) terms”.
He later said he believed the last possible deadline for getting a deal was in the days immediately after Christmas.