The UK’s negotiations to exit the European Union could lead to a complete breakdown between the European body and Britain, according to former European Commission official David Wright.
David Wright, who has spent more than 30 years in the EU’s heart of Brussels, working with commissioners such as Leon Briaan and Michel Barnier, the chief Brexit negotiator, has told Business Insider that there are red lines which could make an agreement impossible.
"It's not a bit neutral, or a bit negative, but for the EU and the UK it's potentially extremely disruptive. There's a risk of a complete breakdown, certainly it's looking more probable," said Wright.
"Brexit was a dagger in my heart," he added.
With such uncertainty about, it is a worrying time for businesses and wholesalers regarding the UK’s future relationship with the EU.
Wright added that he thinks the UK are underestimating how long the process of reaching an agreement with the EU could take once Article 50 is triggered.
"There's so much complexity. To resolve all of it in two years is absolutely impossible. Politics in the EU are not black and white like in the UK."
He also urged the UK Government to shed more light on the future of financial services.
"The US isn't going to change its financial services laws for the UK, so the danger is [that] the UK is pulled towards US rulemaking approaches and away from EU parallelism," Mr Wright said.
"Some of the bills on the table could castrate the US regulators,” he said.
Theresa May has previously stated that the UK is seeking an ambitious trade deal.