Boris Johnson has said he is “very confident” MPs will want to back his Brexit deal after UK and EU officials secured an agreement at a critical summit in Brussels.
But the prime minister’s DUP allies poured cold water on his hopes of progress by declaring they will oppose the plan – leaving Mr Johnson scrambling to find votes elsewhere.
The PM faces an uphill struggle to get his deal approved at an historic Commons sitting this Saturday.
MPs have won a key parliamentary vote paving the way for a bid to secure a second referendum on Saturday.
Senior Labour party figures, such as John McDonnell, have strongly criticised the agreement.
“The more people examine text of Johnson deal, the more you realise what a sell out deal it is,” Mr McDonnell said on Twitter.
“It’s not just the DUP, he’s sold out virtually every sector of our economy & all those who may have voted to leave believing a deal could be secured that protected their jobs.”
European leaders unanimously endorsed the proposal on Thursday and formally sent it to the British parliament.
“This is a great deal for our country. I also believe it’s a very good deal for our friends in the EU,” Mr Johnson told reporters in Brussels.
“There is a very good case for MPs across the House of Commons to express the democratic will of the people, as we have pledged many times to do and to get Brexit done.”
If you would like to see how the day’s events unfolded, please see what was our live coverage below:
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of events at Westminster and Brussels, where EU leaders arrive for a two-day summit with Brexit unresolved.
Boris Johnson’s Brexit plan has received a crushing blow just hours ahead of a critical EU summit, as the DUP said they “could not support” current proposals.
In a statement this morning Arlene Foster said: “As things stand, we could not support what is being suggested on customs and consent issues, and there is a lack of clarity on VAT.”
All the details here:
Boris Johnson's Brexit plans receive crushing blow as DUP say they cannot 'support what is being suggested'
'As things stand, we could not support what is being suggested on customs and consent issues, and there is a lack of clarity on VAT'Some of Boris Johnson’s allies have suggested he could still win a majority for his deal without the DUP’s 10 MPs.
One senior Tory told The Times the number of DUP-allied “Spartans” in the party could be cut down to somewhere between seven and ten.
The source said: “Our whipping is going to be medieval.”
According to one member of the ERG, the idea is merely defiant bluster: “If the DUP aren’t on board, there’s no way it gets through.”
Labour is ready to vote for a Final Say referendum on Saturday if Boris Johnson somehow brings an EU withdrawal deal back from Brussels, the party’s shadow Brexit minister Jenny Chapman has said.
It’s understood Labour MPs will be whipped to back an amendment requiring a Johnson agreement to be put to a public vote.
All the details here.
Labour ready to vote for Final Say referendum on Boris Johnson Brexit deal
Backers of referendum say they have array of parliamentary weapons ‘oiled and polished’ for use at the right timeLabour MP Louise Ellman has quit the party after 55 years as a member, saying she can no longer advocate voting for the party “when it risks Corbyn becoming PM”.
Zamira Rahim has more.
Labour MP quits party after 55 years because of 'risk of Corbyn becoming PM'
‘I believe that Jeremy Corbyn is not fit to serve as our prime minister,’ says Dame Louise EllmanIt now appears too late for Boris Johnson to get a legal agreement signed off at the EU summit.
Even if there’s a miraculous breakthrough with the DUP, one ambassador said: “It can only be a political agreement. We have not seen texts and done legal scrubbing.”
It would mean any vote in parliament on Saturday would only be “indicative”, with another vote needed later in the month on the final legal text.
Our Europe editor Jon Stone has more on the impasse ahead of today’s summit.
Boris Johnson on brink of new Brexit deal
Prime minister could still be forced to extend Article 50 after deadlines missedSo what happens next? If Boris Johnson cannot get a deal approved by Saturday he is required to ask the EU for a three-month extension to the current October 31 deadline.
But the EU is not obliged to grant the UK an extension of any particular length – leading to speculation a delay until the summer of 2020 might be possible.
Calculating that Johnson would not be getting a deal through parliament, a bunch of rebel alliance MPs hopped on the Eurostar for an outing to Brussels on Wednesday.
The cross-party group – including Dominic Grieve, Vince Cable, David Lammy and Caroline Lucas – held meetings with EU officials and impressed upon them the need to sanction a long extension to Article 50.
Lucas said they wanted “a meaningful extension that is long enough to have a democratic event”.Fearing Johnson could soon bamboozle EU chiefs into agreeing only a short delay, Grieve said parliamentarians needed “enough space for either a general election or another referendum.”
What did the Europeans make of our daring rebels? Grieve said they had been “reasonably well” received.
Brexit Party chairman Richard Tice MEP said he would rather have a short extension than another referendum.
“We would never support a second referendum,” he told Sky News. “It would destroy trust in democracy, it would infuriate the electorate, it would be divisive, it would be ugly - under no circumstances would we support a second referendum.
“We would rather leave with a clean break on October 31.
“Faced with the alternative, we would rather [have] a very short extension so there could be a general election, and a Leave alliance could win a thumping majority and then leave on a clean-break Brexit because we would then have the numbers in the House of Commons.”
Labour will back an amendment on a “Final Say” referendum this Saturday – if Boris Johnson somehow brings an EU withdrawal deal back from Brussels.
It’s understood Labour MPs will be whipped to back an amendment requiring any Brexit deal to be put to a public vote.
It doesn’t completely change the leadership’s policy – which remains in favour of a general election after no-deal is taken off the table before a second Brexit referendum. But as ITV’s Paul Brand suggests, it’s a shift towards stronger support for a public vote.
Mina Andreeva, the European Commission’s chief spokeswoman, said Boris Johnson had spoken to Jean-Claude Juncker this morning.
German chancellor Angela Merkel said an agreement on Brexit is still possible but has not yet been reached.
She told the German parliament: “We’re on a better path than before, but we have not yet reached the goal.”
Merkel gave a speech in the Reichstag before travelling to Brussels to attend the EU summit on Brexit.
She stressed that an “agreement is still possible”, which is “why we need to continue to do everything to bring the negotiations to a successful end”.
BREAKING: A senior EU official has said there will be no Brexit negotiations with Boris Johnson at the two-day leaders’ summit beginning today in Brussels.
The bloc has not yet received the text of an agreement, said the same official, but the EU remains “patient” and “zen”.
There will be no negotiations between the UK and the EU today. So where does that leave the chances of a deal being struck this month?
According to our Europe correspondent Jon Stone, legal ratification by the end of October “may be impossible” now.
Cabinet members leave 10 Downing Street
Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg and Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay have now left Downing Street.
Senior cabinet members were seen entering No 10 shortly before 9am.
On the way to his car, Rees-Mogg, seen talking on his phone as he went in, joked “ants can run at 300 miles per hour, but photographers can run faster”, as photographers chased him.
Ulster Unionist Party’s leader-in-waiting backs Remain
The man set to become the next leader of the Ulster Unionist Party has signalled that he would adopt a pro-Remain position on Brexit.
Steven Aiken, who is the only candidate declared in the contest to replace outgoing Robin Swann, said Boris Johnson’s proposed deal would be worse than a hard Brexit for the region.
His comments mark a potentially significant shift for the UUP, and would create clear blue water between its position and that of its Brexiteer unionist rivals the DUP.
The UUP campaigned for Remain in the referendum but, after the result, subsequently advocated for leaving with a deal, insisting the 2016 vote had to be respected.
Aiken told the Nolan Show on BBC Radio Ulster: “This has been a disaster for Northern Ireland, the only way we can really get out of this is to stay.
“For people in Northern Ireland it is very clear - Boris Johnson’s deal is bad for us, the best thing for us in many respects is to stay in.”
Brexit deal finally done?
Reports coming through that a Brexit deal has been done – which presumably means the DUP have relented on the remaining sticking points.
BREAKING: Brexit deal is now done, says Jean Claude-Juncker
Wow. Jean Claude-Juncker has confirmed the reports: a Brexit agreement has been reached.
Boris Johnson hails Brexit breakthrough
Boris Johnson said a “great new” Brexit deal had been agreed “that takes back control”.
DUP still not backing Brexit deal
Despite the apparent breakthrough, the agreement has still not received DUP support. As our deputy political editor Rob Merrick suggests, Boris Johnson is trying to “bounce” them into backing the deal forged with the EU.
A DUP spokesperson says the position “hasn’t changed”.
No 10 claims backstop has been ‘abolished’
