Brexit deal will be brokered, says leader

A DEAL will be done with other member states to simplify Britain's exit from the EU, according to Scottish Conservatives' leader Ruth Davidson.

She made the claim while on a visit to Inverness, despite the question-marks hanging over the negotiations.

Serious concerns, about tourism and agriculture in particular, persist over the implications of Britain's exit next year because of an exodus of some migrant workers and uncertainty among others.

The lack of a substantive deal poses big questions about agriculture payments, online shopping costs, bank card charges for Brits travelling abroad and the authorisation of medicines.

Attempting to dispel concerns, Ms Davidson said: "I fully believe there will be a deal.

"Before I was elected I was a journalist, mostly at the BBC, and I covered a lot of European negotiations. There's a pattern to them.

"You're told no for a really long time before you get to a yes and the yes tends to happen at 4am on deadline day. Part of the job I have undertaken in the last couple of years since the Brexit vote is to ensure Scottish voices with a particular interest are able to feed into those negotiations.

"We know there'll be a big decision made in October when we'll see the sides thrash out a deal.

"The idea that you can make this big constitutional change and nothing else happens, or that it happens without affecting everybody's lives, is for the birds."