Polish MEP Danuta Hübner says Britain cannot negotiate a free-trade agreement until it has left the European Union. Liam Fox’s hopes of securing a trade deal with the European Union before Brexit have been dealt a blow by a leading member of the European parliament, who insists no deal can be struck until the UK has left the bloc.

Danuta Hübner, a former Polish minister who became the country’s first European commissioner, said it would not be possible for the UK to conclude a trade deal while still an EU member.

Now an MEP, she chairs the European parliament’s constitutional affairs committee, which will be responsible for vetting any post-Brexit free-trade agreement with the UK.

In an interview with the Guardian, she stressed negotiations on Britain’s EU exit under article 50, due to begin next year, would be on a different track to talks on the future relationship.