EU warns of 'challenging' timeframe for UK trade deal

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Friday warned of the tight timing for securing a trade deal with Britain, hours after Boris Johnson's Conservatives won a crushing election victory.

"The time frame ahead of us is very challenging," von der Leyen said, following a discussion by European Union leaders on the way forward after Brexit, now expected on January 31.

On the "first of February, we go to work," she said.