Michel Barnier, the European Union's chief negotiator in the Brexit talks, has made it clear that the UK's financial services sector will lose its passporting rights once the country exits the bloc.

In a speech at the Centre for European Reform's conference on the future of the EU, Barnier said some in the finance sector had suggested they could hold on to their coveted passports, which allow EU-based firms to offer their goods and services across the member states, despite Brexit.