UK would leave the EU on Australia terms if no deal reached, Johnson tells Merkel

FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson attend a news conference at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is prepared to leave the European Union on the same terms as Australia has with the bloc if it cannot agree on a future trading deal, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Germany's Angela Merkel in a telephone call on Tuesday.

"On the future relationship, the prime minister underlined the UK's commitment to working hard to find an early agreement out of the intensified talks process," a Downing Street spokeswoman said.