Too early to know cost of Brexit transition extension

Britain's Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington said it was too early to estimate the cost of extending a Brexit transition period after the government indicated it would consider asking for one to break a deadlock in talks with the EU.

Lidington rejected claims that an extension would cost Britain more than 10 billion pounds ($13.10 billion) in payments to the European Union in order to stay in the bloc's single market and customs union for another year.

"You are making an assumption about what the insurance policy would include and the insurance policy actually being applied," he told the BBC on Thursday.

"It is precisely one of those things that needs to be teased out and addressed, whether we felt and the EU felt it was the right approach to take."

Lidington said any extension was likely to last for a few months. ($1 = 0.7634 pounds)