NOT THERE YET
Theresa May admits she hasn’t cut a deal on Northern Ireland with the EU and it’s time to ‘urgently’ speed up Brexit talks
The Prime Minister gave a statement in the Commons after attending a major EU summit in Brussels last week
THERESA May tonight admitted she still hasn't been able to hammer out a Brexit deal on Northern Ireland - and said the situation is now "urgent".
The PM vowed to speed up the pace of talks with Brussels in order to reach agreement by the autumn.
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She insisted Britain will never accept a deal which separates Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK despite being pressed by the EU to do so.
Speaking in the Commons this evening, Mrs May revealed that Britain and Europe have secured a deal on every key issue except the Irish border.
The update came after she met every other EU leader at a summit in Brussels last week.
The PM said: "The 27 other member states welcomed the progress that has been made on the withdrawal agreement.
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"With the exception of the protocol on Northern Ireland, we now have agreement or are close to doing so.
"There remain some real differences between us and the European commission on Northern Ireland.
"We have put forward proposals and will produce further proposals, so that if a temporary backstop is needed there will be no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
"We are absolutely committed to the avoidance of such a border, and we are equally committed to the avoidance of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.
"Northern Ireland is an integral part of our country, and we will never accept the imposition of a border within our United Kingdom."
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She added: "We all agreed that we must now urgently intensify and accelerate the pace of negotiations on our future relationship.
"I warned EU leaders that I do not think this Parliament will approve the withdrawal agreement in the autumn unless we have clarity about our future relationship alongside it."
Britain and the EU are hoping to cut a deal which would enable trade to pass over the Irish border without any formal controls, by deploying new technology and streamlined customs arrangements.
They have agreed to put in place a "backstop" in case they can't reach an appropriate deal in time - but are still at loggerheads over whether the backstop would involve customs checks between Northern Ireland and the mainland UK.
Nigel Dodds, deputy leader of Mrs May's DUP allies, visited Downing Street today to warn the PM the party could pull its support for her if they're not happy with her Brexit policy.
He said: "We don't give blank cheques to anybody and I think it is very clear that we don't.
"On Brexit we want to see a proper Brexit which fulfils the referendum result. We have been very clear that has to be on the basis that the whole of the UK leaving the EU as one."
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Mrs May's statement in the Commons today came as she prepared for a summit at Chequers on Friday where Cabinet ministers will finally sign off on what they want from the final Brexit trade deal.
Ahead of the crunch showdown, pro-Brexit Tory MPs have launched an increasingly bitter war with their Remainer colleagues in a bid to stop the PM backsliding on her red lines.
Jeremy Corbyn said: "The Prime Minister is stuck in the middle of two warring factions, but she now needs to pick a side."
Eurosceptic Conservative Desmond Swayne asked: "Will Brexit be recognisable as Brexit?"
Mrs May replied: "There has been much jocularity around the term 'Brexit means Brexit' - but it does mean Brexit."
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But ex-minister Nicky Morgan urged her not to listen to the "arbitrary red lines" set out by the likes of Jacob Rees-Mogg, adding that she should aim for "a pragmatic, sensible and flexible Brexit".
And Mrs May refused to rule out extending the Brexit transition period or adopting the same goods tariffs as the EU.
The Government today faced fresh chaos as it was claimed ministers are considering a new "third way" on customs different to all previous proposals - but Brexit Secretary David Davis claimed to know nothing about it and was seen visiting Number 10 for talks on the issue.
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