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"Any idiot can start a trade agreement, the question is where does it end up" said Peter Mandelson the former Labour Cabinet minister and EU commissioner, who supports staying in the EU.

The Labour peer said it is "more complex" and "harder to negotiate" free-trade agreements outside the EU and it could take up to seven years to do so.

"The more you want to reduce both border tariff barriers and regulatory barriers the longer and more complex it is and the harder the negotiation is and that鈥檚 why on average a free trade agreement takes between four and seven years, sometimes much longer to negotiate,鈥� he said.

(Image: UK Customs. Credit: Getty Images)