Waiting game as hopes of imminent deal diminish Both UK and EU27 admit key issues such as Irish border still to be resolved

Hopes that Theresa May’s Cabinet might sign off a Brexit deal today appear to have been dashed, as both the EU and UK sides said issues remain to be settled.

Downing Street said that reports that Brussels’ chief negotiator Michel Barnier expected the “parameters” of a deal to be presented to ministers for approval at their regular weekly meeting should be taken “with a bucket of salt”.

It is not thought any deal will be on the table at the Cabinet meeting in 10 Downing Street, which will instead hear an update on negotiations and discuss preparations for a possible no-deal withdrawal from the EU.

If no deal is agreed by tomorrow, the prospects of a special Brexit summit in Brussels later this month will recede sharply, further reducing Mrs May’s chances of getting a vote in parliament before Christmas.

The prime minister’s spokesman rejected suggestions that tomorrow represents a hard deadline, repeating Mrs May’s position that she wants a deal “as soon as possible” but that it “can’t be at any cost”.

Meanwhile, one Brexit-backing Cabinet minister cautioned that the prime minister would not have a free hand in pushing her plans through.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt told Sky News: “The important thing is that there are two checks on this deal – there is Cabinet and there is parliament.

“Cabinet’s job is to put something to parliament that is going to deliver on the referendum result.”

The PM’s spokesman said: “The Cabinet has backed the prime minister in moving forward with her negotiations with the EU and I expect Cabinet will continue to do so.”

Officials from both sides were engaged in talks in Brussels which began on Sunday and lasted until 2.45am yesterday but failed to produce a decisive breakthrough.

Downing Street said there were “substantial issues still to be overcome” in relation to the “backstop” measure aimed at ensuring the frontier between Northern Ireland and Ireland remains open no matter what happens in the wider Brexit trade deal.

The PM’s spokesman said: “We have made good progress in the negotiations in relation to the withdrawal agreement but there are substantial issues still to be overcome in relation to the Northern Irish backstop.”

Mr Barnier told ministers from the 27 remaining EU nations at a meeting of the general affairs council that key issues remained unresolved.

“Some key issues remain under discussion, in particular a solution to avoid a hard border bet ween Ireland and Northern Ireland,” said an official statement.

A witness to the meeting told the Financial Times that the chief negotiator had told the EU27 ministers that “the parameters of a possible agreement are very largely defined” and that the UK Cabinet would meet to examine them today.

But ministers emerging from the meeting did little to encourage expectations of an early resolution.

Former transport minister Jo Johnson yesterday said he decided to quit Mrs May’s government last week as he was concerned at reports she was planning a publicity campaign which he said amounted to a “calculated deceit”.

He was replaced last night as transport minister by Jesse Norman, who was already a Parliamentary under-secretary of state in the Department for Transport.

“We have made good progress in the negotiations”