The European Union is ready to give Britain more guarantees that the Irish "backstop" is only intended to be temporary, the bloc's chief Brexit negotiator said on Friday.

"We know that there are misgivings in Britain that the backstop could keep Britain forever connected to the EU," Michel Barnier said in an interview with Germany's Die Welt newspaper to be published on Saturday.

"This is not the case. And we are ready to give further guarantees, assurances and clarifications that the backstop should only be temporary."

The backstop, an arrangement designed to prevent the return of “hard" border infrastructure between EU member Ireland and British-ruled Northern Ireland if there is no trade deal after Brexit that makes it unnecessary, has become the main point of contention in the proposed Brexit deal.

"We will not reverse the backstop," Barnier added. "It's an insurance. We don't want to make use of it. And this is also the case when you insure your house. It's only intended for the worstcase scenario."

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said last month that the key to securing a Brexit deal that the British government can get through parliament was to define the “temporary" nature of the Irish backstop more precisely.