IN SIGHT OF THE SUMMIT

After 1,210 days of dithering, delay and doom, Boris says a deal is within grasp – but DUP could still scupper it

BORIS Johnson was tantalisingly close to a Brexit deal last night – only to become stuck on the rock of DUP resistance.

Cabinet sources said the UK was within ‘fingertip’ range of leaving the European Union within days.

A deal could even be struck today in Brussels, according to Donald Tusk.

‘The basic foundations of an agreement are ready,’ said the EU Council president. And Emmanuel Macron of France said the remaining details could be thrashed out tonight.

Mr Johnson told Tory MPs the Brexit process, which started 1,210 days ago, was like climbing Everest and the UK was at the famous Hillary Step, just below the top. ‘The summit is not far but at the moment it is still shrouded in cloud,’ he said.

The DUP, on whose votes the Government depends, was still refusing to fall in line last night. The key hurdles were its insistence that Northern Ireland must agree to any arrangements that keep it tied to Brussels and the EU’s demand that the province

remain within its VAT regime. Government sources said support from Northern Ireland’s Unionists was vital to get a withdrawal agreement through Parliament.

‘Everyone will be working into the night but it doesn’t look like there will be a deal this evening,’ said one insider. Several Eurosceptic ‘Spartan’ MPs indicated they were unlikely to support the deal unless the DUP did.

‘There needs to be as little difference as possible between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK,’ said former Cabinet minister Owen Paterson.

‘I will make my own mind up, but if the DUP goes along with it that will be a big influence, and vice versa.’

Mr Johnson had been on standby last night to fly to Brussels to seal a deal ahead of today’s summit.

On a fast-moving day in Westminster and Brussels:

Ministers pressed ahead with plans for the first Saturday sitting of Parliament since the Falklands War in the hope MPs have a deal to vote on;

The DUP denied claims that its ten MPs were split;

Labour indicated it would back attempts to force a vote on a second referendum on Saturday;

EU officials were considering tearing up the agenda of the Brussels summit to allow Brexit to be discussed tomorrow;

Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay said Mr Johnson would comply with a law requiring him to seek a delay if No Deal is agreed by Saturday;

But No 10 still insisted the PM would stick to his pledge to leave the EU by October 31;

France raised objections over Mr Johnson’s refusal to guarantee it would abide by an economic ‘level playing field’ after Brexit;

Sources among the 21 former Tory MPs expelled last month indicated they would back a deal only if Mr Johnson agreed to a delay;

Irish PM Leo Varadkar said a second EU summit could be convened later this month;

Former chancellor Philip Hammond said he might back the deal, provided it did not result in a hard Brexit;

EU diplomats warned that time was running out for a formal agreement;

Anti-Brexit campaigners claimed the deal could breach laws stopping Northern Ireland forming a distinct customs territory.

Sources in both London and Brussels said Mr Johnson was close to achieving his aim of rewriting Theresa May’s deal to remove the backstop.

Under his plan, Northern Ireland would have to continue to follow a string of EU rules over which it would have no say. There would also be customs checks on goods travelling across the Irish Sea from the rest of the UK. The DUP is demanding that the process must be subject to democratic consent.

Its Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson yesterday pointed out that, under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, major decisions can be settled only with the consent of both communities.

But Brussels and Dublin are resisting the plan, saying it would give the DUP a veto.

The ‘consent mechanism’ being pushed by the EU would give Stormont a say only on continuing the arrangements in five years’ time.

The vote could either be on a simple majority, or a ‘cross community’ basis with a qualifying threshold.

Mr Johnson, who has good relations with the DUP, told an emergency meeting of the Cabinet yesterday he was confident he could win them over.

Discussions have been held about a ‘New Deal for Northern Ireland’, which could see billions poured into the province. Downing Street denied rumours that the PM might be willing to meet the DUP’s demands to maintain existing restrictions on abortion.

Brussels diplomats said EU leaders would now be able to give only an informal ‘political yes’ to any agreement at tonight’s summit.

This is because they will not have had enough time to work through the legal detail.

Another extension would then be required to scrutinise the detail, sources said, meaning Britain may not leave until next year.

THE Hillary Step was a rocky outcrop just below the summit of Mount Everest. To ascending climbers, it was the last great challenge before reaching the peak.

According to Boris Johnson’s analogy, the burdensome Brexit talks were camped there last night. Tantalisingly close to the prize, but agonisingly out of grasp.

Nevertheless, it is testament to the Prime Minister’s determination to get a deal with the EU (despite claims by some Remainers). Because this time last week, negotiations were floundering in the foothills.

Now, after three long years, Britain appears on the brink of agreeing an honourable departure – becoming, once again, a truly sovereign nation.

Despite frantic efforts, however, the talks remain deadlocked before today’s Brussels showdown. The stumbling block is the DUP. Yes, they are understandably concerned that concessions which weaken one side’s voice in Northern Ireland could spark a grim return to civic unrest.

But if Mr Johnson can persuade them to overcome their fears, it will be a giant step forward. He is, after all, a fierce defender of the Union.

Soon we’ll discover if he’s triumphed against the odds. But there are many slips ’twixt the cup and the lip.

Any deal must first pass Parliament. Then we’ll see MPs’ true colours. If they are wavering, they should study the biggest poll since the referendum itself, showing 54 per cent of the public want to leave.

Indeed, they should be clear: The country will not forgive self-indulgent politicians who derail a deal when the crest of the Brexit mountain is in sight.