LONDON (Reuters) - The European Union must show “more realism” in its trade negotiation and respect Britain’s independence as a sovereign state, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday, repeating that there were still gaps to overcome. “Although there has been some progress in recent days, there is much work to be done and time is very short,” the spokesman told reporters. “So if we are to make further progress in the coming days we need to see more realism from the EU on what it means for the UK to be an independent state.”