Brexit deal 'will not be reached tonight'

16 October 2019, 19:59

A Brexit deal will not be reached tonight, Government sources have said after a scramble to thrash out an arrangement before tomorrow’s Brussels summit.

On a crunch day for Boris Johnson, he said that there were ‘outstanding issues’ but remained hopeful of a ‘chance’ of success.

His thoughts were echoed by Emmanuel Macron who said that he wants "to believe that a deal is being finalised".

But officials on both sides of the Channel said on Wednesday that numerous obstacles still needed to be surmounted for a fresh agreement to be brokered.

Mr Johnson needs to get a deal approved by the EU tomorrow to avert a major political row over asking Brussels to delay Brexit beyond the scheduled October 31 deadline.

Government sources told Sky news that no deal was expected to be reached tonight.

The Prime Minister needs to get a deal approved at the summit of EU leaders starting in Brussels on Thursday if he is to avoid a clash over asking for a delay to the UK's departure.

His official spokesman said the Prime Minister had on Wednesday afternoon updated his Cabinet, which gave its "full support" to get a deal ahead of the summit after a "positive discussion".

"He said there was a chance of securing a good deal but we are not there yet and there remain outstanding issues," the spokesman added.

But hours later it emerged that the deal talks had stalled with no progress ahead of the Brussels talks.

During a brief address to the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, Mr Johnson compared the situation to climbing Mount Everest, according to MPs who attended.

Referring to the Prime Minister, leading Brexiteer Mark Francois said: "He said 'we are not quite at the summit, we are at the Hillary Step'.

"'The summit is not far but at the moment there is still cloud around the summit'."

Mr Francois added: "The other thing he said was if we cannot achieve a deal despite the best efforts of the United Kingdom, we will still leave the European Union at Halloween.

"He was absolutely crystal clear about that."

The reported comments appeared at odds with remarks earlier in the day by Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay, who confirmed that Mr Johnson will write a letter asking for an Article 50 extension if no deal is in place by Saturday, something the Prime Minister has repeatedly ruled out.

Arch-Brexiteer Steve Baker said he would need to see the legal text of a deal before any vote on it.

He said: "If I am not shown the legal text I shall vote no because I haven't read it."

Talks in Brussels resumed on Wednesday morning after running into the early hours.

After a briefing by EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier, EU commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said: "Talks have been constructive but there still remains a number of significant issues to resolve."

European Council president Donald Tusk reportedly told Poland's TVN 24 news channel that "everything should be clear" by midnight.

DUP leader Arlene Foster quickly moved to reject a suggestion that her party had accepted the latest proposal on consent.

She tweeted: "Discussions continue. Needs to be a sensible deal which unionists and nationalists can support."

Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he was "confident" a deal could be struck by the current deadline and raised the prospect of another EU summit being held in the coming weeks.

But he warned there were still numerous hurdles in the way, after speaking with Mr Johnson and the European Commission on Wednesday morning.

"There is a pathway to a possible deal but there are many issues that still need to be resolved, particularly around the consent mechanism and issues around customs and VAT," he said.

"Although time is running short, I am confident these objectives can be achieved."

Saturday is a key date for the Prime Minister, with the Benn Act passed by MPs trying to prevent a no-deal Brexit stating he must write to Brussels asking for a delay if Parliament does not agree to a deal by then.

Mr Barclay was questioned by the legislation's namesake, Labour's Hilary Benn, when appearing at the Exiting the European Union Committee of MPs.

The Brexit Secretary reiterated that the Prime Minister would write to Brussels asking for an Article 50 extension, as previously revealed in documents submitted during a Scottish court challenge.

"I can confirm, as the Prime Minister has repeatedly set out, that firstly the Government will comply with the law, and secondly it will comply with undertakings given to the court in respect of the law," he said.

Mr Barclay confirmed that the Government "will abide by" what is set out in that letter, following fears the Prime Minister could try to scupper an extension with a second contradictory letter or request to a member state to block an extension.

The Cabinet minister reiterated the Government's commitment to leave the EU on the current October 31 deadline, despite the act demanding a delay to the end of January if MPs do not approve a deal by Saturday.

If Mr Johnson succeeded in bringing a deal home to the UK, he would then face a battle to do what Theresa May failed to do three times and get it approved by Parliament.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he was "deeply concerned" about the negotiations and ruled out his party backing a deal under Mr Johnson's reported terms.

The DUP's MPs and their influence over the Tories are key in swinging any vote Mr Johnson's way, and he was to meet them for the third time in as many days on Wednesday afternoon.

Talks between the Prime Minister's team and hardline Brexiteers from the European Research Group (ERG) were also expected to continue.

Pressure to sign off on a draft agreement is peaking. A legal text needs to be published ahead of the summit if the EU27 are to consider ratifying the Withdrawal Agreement at the two-day event.

Their approval would allow Mr Johnson to put the deal to MPs in a proposed extraordinary sitting of Parliament on Saturday, between 9.30am and 2pm.

The Government was to table a motion on Wednesday to ask Parliament to back the sitting, the first on a Saturday for 37 years.

During the weekend session, MPs would be able to back or reject any deal presented to them, or discuss what to do next in the Brexit saga.