Under-pressure Rishi Sunak could announce a new Brexit deal tomorrow – but faces a backlash from rebels within his party.
The Prime Minister is to meet European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen for lunchtime “final talks” on the Northern Ireland Protocol before a Cabinet meeting.
If a deal is struck, the leaders will hold a press conference before Mr Sunak makes a statement in the House of Commons as he tries to break the deadlock.
His deputy Dominic Raab said the UK and the EU were on the cusp of a new agreement.
But hardline Tory Brexiteers warned they would not hesitate to slap it down.
Former Tory PM Boris Johnson also faced a torrid time from rebels when he signed the protocol –designed to prevent a hard border with Ireland – in 2020.
Mark Francois, who heads the right-wing European Research Group of Tory MPs, said if it is not backed by the Democratic Unionist Party it “is simply not going to fly”.
And Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker, a former ERG chair, was said to have told allies he could resign over the deal.
One sticking point is likely to be whether the European Court of Justice retains any power in Northern Ireland. Mr Francois said: “Less of a role is not enough.
“I mean, we’re not stupid. What we want is a situation where EU law is expunged from Northern Ireland, so it is treated on the same basis as England, Scotland and Wales.”
But Labour has pledged to support a new deal.
Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “It’s very likely that if a deal does emerge it will be an improvement of the Northern Ireland Protocol deal that was agreed by Boris Johnson just a few years ago.”
Mr Johnson is understood to be another potential obstacle.
Reports claim he replied “F*** the Americans” when told by fellow Tory Sir Robert Buckland a new deal on trading arrangements for Northern Ireland was necessary to boost US relations.
A source close to the ex-PM told The Mirror: “This was a jocular conversation in the chamber with Robert Buckland that someone has evidently misunderstood. This is not language we would use.”
A Downing Street spokesman said: “The Prime Minister wants to ensure any deal fixes the practical problems on the ground, ensures trade flows freely within the whole of the UK, safeguards Northern Ireland’s place in our Union and returns sovereignty to the people of Northern Ireland.”
