Brexit deal is still achievable – May

to restructuring firms regarding a number of options, one of which is thought to include a Company Voluntary Arrangement, a controversial insolvency procedure used to shed underperforming sites. THE prison service and local authorities are failing to plan for a rise in elderly, ill and frail inmates, a new report warns.

Many older jails are ill-equipped for prisoners in wheelchairs or with mobility problems, the assessment by two watchdogs found.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the Care Quality Commission flagged up concerns about a lack of support overnight – with some inmates unable to summon assistance after falling. CELEBRITIES, politicians and other public figures have reacted with joy to the announcement from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that they are expecting a baby.

Harry and Meghan told the world they would be welcoming a new member of the Royal Family in Spring 2019 with an announcement on the official Kensington Palace Twitter account yesterday morning.

The announcement came after the couple arrived in Sydney yesterday on the eve of their 16-day major tour which will take in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga.

Prime Minister Theresa May wrote on Twitter: “My PRIME MINISTER Theresa May has insisted that a Brexit deal is still “achievable” despite deadlock in negotiations just days ahead of a crunch European Council summit.

Mrs May called for “cool, calm heads to prevail” after talks last weekend failed to bridge differences between the UK and EU over the future status of the border in Ireland.

And she warned of the danger that failure to reach agreement over the border could result in the UK leaving the EU without a deal in March next year.

The Prime Minister was addressing the House of Commons just two days before she travels to Brussels for a summit at which it had initially been hoped to finalise the UK’s withdrawal agreement as well as a political declaration on future trade and security relations.

Following the failure to achieve a breakthrough when Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab met EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier on Sunday, the European Commission confirmed that no further negotiations will be held ahead tomorrow’s summit.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said warmest congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the happy news they are expecting a baby. Wishing them all the best.”

Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, also congratulated the pair, tweeting: “Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their happy news!” the prospect of agreement “looks a bit more difficult again”, adding: “If it doesn’t work out this week, we must continue negotiating, that is clear – but time is pressing.”

Berlin wants the UK’s withdrawal next March to be orderly “but not at any price”, Mrs Merkel told a conference of German exporters. And Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar suggested a deal may be delayed as late as December.

Mr Varadkar said Dublin was making preparations for a “potentially catastrophic” no-deal withdrawal, but did not believe that this was the most likely outcome.

But Sammy Wilson, Brexit spokesman for the DUP, which props up Mrs May’s minority administration in the Commons, said that a no-deal outcome was now “probably inevitable” due to the “intransigence” of EU negotiators.

Talks at the weekend foundered over the EU’s demand for a “backstop to the backstop” designed to ensure that the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic remains open under any circumstances.

Mrs May has offered to keep the whole of the UK temporarily in a customs union with the EU until a broader trade deal is in place avoiding the need for customs and regulatory checks at the Irish border, with the expectation that this will not be later than the end of 2021.

But Mr Barnier insisted that a carve-out keeping Northern Ireland alone in the EU’s customs area should remain available in case the UK-wide arrangement lapses before the trade deal is finalised.

Mrs May told MPs that this was not acceptable as it risked undermining the integrity of the UK.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn dismissed Mrs May’s comments as “another ‘nothing has changed’ moment from this shambles of a Government”.