EU says Britain not automatically entitled to any trade benefits

The European Union's top Brexit negotiator said on Wednesday that Britain was not automatically entitled to any benefits that the bloc had previously granted to other partners in trade talks.

As the two sides negotiate a new partnership following Britain's departure from the EU, London's chief negotiator published a letter on Tuesday accusing Brussels of denying it benefits the bloc has previously granted to others.

"There is no automatic entitlement to any benefits that the EU may have offered or granted in other contexts and circumstances to other, often very different, partners," the EU's Michel Barnier said in his reply.