PM challenges her Cabinet to stay united as negotiations stall

Theresa May has called on her Cabinet to “stand together and stand firm” on Brexit, after negotiations with the EU stalled in the run-up to a crucial summit.

The Prime Minister’s plea came in an extended three-hour meeting of Cabinet at 10 Downing Street, where ministers offered strong support for her insistence any Brexit deal must preserve the integrity of the Union and cannot bind the UK indefinitely into a customs backstop arrangement.

D e s p i t e i n t e n s e speculation over a possible walkout in recent days, no minister indicated they might consider resigning from the government over Brexit.

The meeting came as Mrs May prepared to address leaders of the remaining 27 EU states at a Brussels summit on Wednesday which had once been billed as the “moment of truth” for Brexit but now seems certain to pass without agreement.

Reports from Brussels suggested senior European Commission officials were casting doubt on the prospect of a special Brexit summit in November if no agreement has been reached by then on the “backstop” arrangement to avoid a hard border in Ireland.

The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said “we need more time” to find an agreement to deliver an orderly UK withdrawal and keep the Irish border open.

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Michel Barnie, left, shaking hands with Donald Tusk

Prime Minster Theresa May after the Cabinet meeting