Brexit: Theresa May seeks cabinet unity ahead of EU summit
Brexit: Deadlock over Irish border ahead of EU summit
(about 2 hours later)
Theresa May is attempting to get her top team to unite behind her as Brexit talks enter a crucial phase.
Hopes an EU summit on Wednesday would unblock Brexit talks have taken a blow, with agreement still to be reached on what happens at the Irish border.
The prime minister briefed the cabinet earlier on her efforts to unblock talks in Brussels, currently deadlocked over the issue of the Irish border.
The UK and the EU had hoped that enough progress had been made to call a special summit in November to finalise the terms of the UK's exit.
European leaders meet on Wednesday in one of the last chances to get a deal on post-Brexit trade before the UK's departure from the EU.
European Council president Donald Tusk said he now had "no grounds for optimism" on a breakthrough.
EU officials have warned no-deal is "more likely than ever before".
But Theresa May told her cabinet she still hoped to get a deal.
The UK's prime minister told a three-hour cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning she could not agree to any deal which created a new border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK - or one which locked the UK into a customs union with the EU indefinitely.
She says this would be the consequence of the proposals currently on the table from the EU.
The latest Brexit developments:
The latest Brexit developments:
The UK is due to leave the EU in March and it had been hoped that on Wednesday EU leaders would agree that enough progress had been made to call a special summit in November to finalise the terms of the UK's exit and set out a political statement on post-Brexit trading relations.
Mrs May used Tuesday's cabinet to rally support for her position among senior ministers, amid reports eight of them had met on Monday to discuss their concerns about it.
However, hopes of that happening were dealt a blow on Sunday when ministers failed to make anticipated progress on the Irish border problem.
Downing Street said none of the eight - Dominic Raab, Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Penny Mordaunt, Chris Grayling, Liz Truss, Andrea Leadsom and Geoffrey Cox - had threatened to quit at Tuesday's cabinet meeting and it was clear that she had strong support.
Nevertheless, the prime minister said on Monday that the two sides were not "far apart" and the border issue must not be allowed to derail the entire effort.
The cabinet had discussed a "mechanism" that would avoid an indefinite customs union if a full trade deal cannot be agreed by the end of the 21-month transition period that is due to kick in after the UK leaves on 29 March - the so-called "backstop" plan.
She tried to reassure MPs the UK would not end up in "permanent limbo", tied to the EU's customs rules, and did her best to convince the DUP's leaders that she would not sign up to any deal which created a new border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
But it was "not a decision-making cabinet", Downing Street said.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn dismissed her comments as "another 'nothing has changed' moment from this shambles of a government".
The prime minister told ministers progress had been made in Brexit talks and although there would be challenging moments ahead a deal was within reach, Downing Street said.
The prime minister continued efforts to win over senior ministers at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning.
"I am convinced that if we as a government stand together and stand firm we will achieve this," she told ministers.
Former Brexit minister Steve Baker told BBC Two's Newsnight the cabinet needs to "change the prime minister's mind" on her plans or they will be rejected.
Both sides in Brexit talks are hoping that a deal on the UK's withdrawal from the EU, including the Irish border question, will be agreed by mid-November in time for it to be ratified by EU members and for MPs at Westminster to vote on it.
Mrs May has repeatedly warned that failure to reach agreement over the border could result in the UK leaving the EU without a deal in March next year.
But senior EU officials have indicated that there'll be no special Brexit summit in November, unless Mrs May puts forward what they consider to be an acceptable plan for dealing with the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Much of the focus is now on the so-called backstop.
The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, who is travelling to Luxembourg to brief EU leaders ahead of Wednesday's summit, said he hoped a deal with Britain was possible "in the coming weeks".
Both the UK and the EU both want to avoid a "hard border" - physical checks or infrastructure between Northern Ireland and Ireland after Brexit.
"We are still not there.
Agreeing how that can be done has so far proved impossible and the backstop is the position of last resort - a safety net that will apply if a wider deal or technological solution cannot keep it as frictionless as it is today.
"There are still several issues which remain unresolved, including that of Ireland, and therefore what I understand is that more time is required to find this comprehensive deal and to reach this decisive progress which we need in order to finalise these negotiations on the orderly exit of the United Kingdom."
The EU has proposed a backstop that would mean Northern Ireland staying in the customs union, large parts of the single market and the EU VAT system - the UK has rejected this because of fears it would create what would be effectively a border between Northern Ireland the rest of the UK.
The UK is instead proposing a backstop which would effectively keep the whole of the UK in the EU customs union for a limited period.
The BBC understands that eight cabinet ministers - Dominic Raab, Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Penny Mordaunt, Chris Grayling, Liz Truss, Andrea Leadsom and Geoffrey Cox - discussed the issue on Monday night.
They expressed concerns that Mrs May must commit to a hard deadline after which point her time-limited version of the backstop would end.
One source described it as a "positive discussion" with "no definitive conclusion".
Quizzed about her stance as she set off for Tuesday's cabinet meeting, Mrs Leadsom said: "The prime minister is doing a very, very complicated job and I am fully supporting her in getting that done."
Ms Mordaunt said: "We're approaching the end of the negotiations. This is going to be a difficult time. The whole cabinet is digging in to get the best deal for this country."
