THERE will be no Brexit extension, Michael Gove has declared — in a tweet.

The Cabinet Office minister made the statement on social media this afternoon as the Scottish and Welsh governments urged Boris Johnson to push EU withdrawal back over the Covid-19 crisis.

New ONS figures show the UK economy has contracted by more than 20% in just one month.

Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford have lodged a joint plea to the Prime Minister, telling him the pandemic has changed everything and the December 31 deadline must not stand.

They said: "Exiting the transition period at the end of the year would be extraordinarily reckless.

"It would pile a further very significant economic and social shock on top of the COVID-19 crisis, hitting businesses whose reserves, in many case, have already been exhausted, leading to more business closures and redundancies."

But shortly after that letter was released, Gove stated that the UK Government will not seek an extension to the process.

That request would have to be made by the end of the month.

Gove said he had been in talks with Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission's vice-president for interinstitutional relations.

He said: " I formally confirmed the UK will not extend the transition period & the moment for extension has now passed. On 1 January 2021 we will take back control and regain our political & economic independence."