UK proposes time-limited backstop, expects Brexit deal by end-2021

LONDON (Reuters) - The British government stuck to its proposal to offer the European Union a "backstop" plan that is time-limited but said it expected a future deal to be in place by the end of December 2021, a document said on Thursday.

Britain said the so-called backstop plan, to be put in place if there is any delay in implementing a Brexit deal, should apply to the whole of the United Kingdom rather than just Northern Ireland as suggested by the EU.

(Reporting by Michael Holden and Elizabeth Piper; editing by Stephen Addison)