Hope for Brexit deal this week but negotiators ‘not there yet’

Hopes for a Brexit breakthrough have been kept alive after a suggestion from the Irish deputy premier that a deal could be struck as early as this week.

Boris Johnson is coming under pressure to concede more ground to Brussels, and it has been reported that the UK has dropped a demand that a deal should include a veto for the Stormont Assembly on customs arrangements.

UK and EU officials continued talks in the Belgian capital yesterday, with the prospects of an agreement in time for Britain to leave with a deal on October 31 in the balance.

Time is rapidly running out if there is to be an agreement to put to EU leaders to sign off on at their two-day summit starting on Thursday.

The EU’S chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, pictured, said “technicallevel” talks between officials over the weekend had proved “constructive”, while Irish deputy premier Simon Coveney urged caution and said “we’re not there yet” – but added that “a deal is possible”.

The prime minister’s spokesman said yesterday that there was still “a lot of work” to be done, but said talks “remain constructive”.

“In terms of the substance of the talks, I’m not going to get into those at all. I think it’s important that people are given space for the talks to progress,” he said.

Downing Street confirmed talks have taken place between the PM and the DUP, with the spokesman saying he would expect those discussions to continue.

Speaking yesterday morning in Luxembourg, Mr Coveney said: “On Brexit the less we say now the better. But we need to give time and space to Michel Barnier and his taskforce and the British negotiating team.

“I think it’s pretty clear what we’re trying to do, but there are pretty detailed technical discussions now and I think we need to give the time and space for that to happen.

“Hopefully we can make progress on those.”

He added: “The message I would give is that we need to be cautious. This is not an easy job. We’ve spent three years trying to get an agreement between the two sides and have made progress at different times.

“But certainly the last number of months have been difficult. So I think, as my taoiseach has said, a deal is possible, and it’s possible this month, may even be possible this week. But we’re not there yet.”

Sinn Fein president Mary Lou Mcdonald spoke to the prime minister about the Stormont veto idea by telephone on Sunday, and told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “He assured me, or sought to assure me, that there would be no vetos afforded to anybody in this process. So I can only take him on his word on that matter.”

Mr Johnson has told senior ministers that, while a “pathway” to a deal could still be seen, there was “still a significant amount of work to get there”.

In a Cabinet conference call, he said they still had to be prepared to leave on Halloween without a deal.

Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-mogg has said the government could achieve a no-deal Brexit by using European law.

However, if Mr Johnson cannot get a deal by the weekend, he will come under intense pressure to seek a further Brexit delay, something he has vowed not to do.

Labour has warned that, if necessary, it will take action through the courts to force the PM to comply with the so-called Benn Act, which requires him to request an extension.