Brexit: The final countdown as Boris Johnson races against clock for a deal

The Prime Minister carried out a charm offensive in Downing Street on Tuesday evening as he held a series of talks with backbenchers and the leaders of the DUP.

It was his predecessor Theresa May’s failure to secure the ERG’s support that led to her Withdrawal Agreement being defeated three times.supports HTML5 videoBut, despite a flurry of meetings at Number 10, there were reports that Mr Johnson’s exit terms were causing splits in the ERG.Chair Steve Baker MP, speaking outside Downing Street, said he was ‘optimistic’ that Mr Johnson’s team in Brussels would finalise a ‘tolerable deal that I will be able to vote for’.

The Guardian reported senior sources on both sides of the Channel saying that a draft treaty could be published on Wednesday morning after the UK agreed in principle there will be a customs border in the Irish Sea.supports HTML5 videoWhile still in office, Mrs May said such an arrangement could never be accepted by a British prime minister.

Number 10 officials were privately playing down suggestions of a Brussels breakthrough and the PM’s decision to hold Cabinet in the late afternoon indicated that negotiators still require time to finalise a deal before Thursday’s crunch European Council summit. A deal will need to be published, along with a legal text, if the EU27 are to consider ratifying the Withdrawal Agreement at their gathering this week, meaning the pressure is on to sign off on the draft agreement.Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, warned Mr Johnson it was ‘high time to turn good intentions into legal text’.Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, in a press conference in Dublin, said it remained uncertain whether a deal would be ready in time for the Brussels summit.

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