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Brexit: UK and EU 'agree text' of draft withdrawal agreement Brexit: UK and EU 'agree text' of draft withdrawal agreement
(35 minutes later)
UK and EU officials have agreed the draft text of a Brexit agreement in a significant breakthrough for the talks.UK and EU officials have agreed the draft text of a Brexit agreement in a significant breakthrough for the talks.
A cabinet source told the BBC that the document has been agreed at a technical level by officials from both sides after intensive talks this week. A cabinet source told the BBC that the document has been agreed at a technical level by officials from both sides after intensive discussions this week.
A special cabinet meeting will be held at 14:00 GMT on Wednesday as Theresa May seeks ministers' backing.A special cabinet meeting will be held at 14:00 GMT on Wednesday as Theresa May seeks ministers' backing.
Every minister is being asked to see the prime minister for one-to-one talks on Tuesday evening. The prime minister is currently meeting ministers for one-to-one talks as they are given sight of the draft agreement.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling and Chief Whip Julian Smith are among those who have been seen entering Downing Street.
Scottish Secretary David Mundell said he had yet to see the detail but he was "encouraged" by the progress made.
But leading Brexiteers, such as Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg, have urged the cabinet to reject the draft agreement - which includes commitments over citizens' rights after Brexit, a proposed 21-month transition period after the UK's departure on 29 March 2019 and details of the so-called £39bn "divorce bill".
The future of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland has been the last major outstanding issue to be settled amid disagreements over how to guarantee that there will not be physical checks reintroduced after Brexit.The future of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland has been the last major outstanding issue to be settled amid disagreements over how to guarantee that there will not be physical checks reintroduced after Brexit.
Cabinet ministers were briefed on the state of the negotiations earlier on Tuesday, when they were told a "small number of outstanding issues" remained to be sorted.Cabinet ministers were briefed on the state of the negotiations earlier on Tuesday, when they were told a "small number of outstanding issues" remained to be sorted.
No 10 said ministers were now being called to a special meeting to "consider the draft agreement the negotiating teams have reached in Brussels, and to decide on next steps".No 10 said ministers were now being called to a special meeting to "consider the draft agreement the negotiating teams have reached in Brussels, and to decide on next steps".
Before they do so, they will be able to read relevant "documentation".Before they do so, they will be able to read relevant "documentation".
The BBC's chief political correspondent Vicki Young said some ministers had "deep concerns" about the the shape of the likely agreement, which critics say could leave the UK trapped in a customs agreement with the EU. Cranking into action
BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg
Agreement is finally in Number 10's grasp.
The text that's taken months of officials' blood, sweat and tears has been agreed, at least at a technical level.
Now a paper's being drafted to present to the Cabinet tomorrow ready for the government's hoped-for next step - political approval from Theresa May's team, even though many of them have deep reservations.
Remember in the last 24 hours some of them have been warning privately that what's on the table is just not acceptable, and will never get through Parliament. Some even believe the prime minister ought to walk away.
But the government machine is now cranking into action. With a text ready, their long-planned rollout can begin.
The BBC's chief political correspondent Vicki Young said some ministers had "deep concerns" about the shape of the likely agreement, which critics say could leave the UK trapped in a customs agreement with the EU.
She said they would have to decide whether they could support it, and if not, whether to resign from cabinet.She said they would have to decide whether they could support it, and if not, whether to resign from cabinet.
In another development, ambassadors from the remaining 27 EU states will meet in Brussels on Wednesday. Leading Brexiteers have already condemned the draft agreement, Boris Johnson saying it would see the UK remain in the customs union and "large parts" of the single market.
The prime minister has been under pressure from both Brexiteers and pro-EU MPs as she tries to seal a deal with the EU on the terms for the UK's exit on 29 March 2019. He told the BBC it was "utterly unacceptable to anyone who believes in democracy". "Am I going to vote against it. The answer is yes," he added.
Another late night And Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said "given the shambolic nature of the negotiations, this is unlikely to be the good deal for the country".
BBC Brussels reporter Adam Fleming 'Failure to deliver'
The negotiating teams stayed up late again, but not as late as on Sunday. At issue is the mechanism for terminating the Northern Irish backstop - if it's ever used. Both the UK and EU want to schedule a special summit of European leaders at the end of November to sign off the reportedly 500 page withdrawal deal and the much shorter outline declaration of their future relationship.
Should it be a decision for the EU-UK joint committee that will be set up to manage the Brexit treaty or for a separate arbitration panel where UK and EU representatives would be joined by an independent figure from somewhere else?
There is also a tussle within the EU27 over Britain's idea for a UK-wide customs arrangement as an alternative to the EU's Northern Ireland-only option.
Some member states see this as giving access to the single market, which should be accompanied by guarantees on other things such as fishing rights and environmental standards.
The European Commission has tried to reassure them, saying it is still only an insurance policy - not the final trade deal - and that it's just a way to get the British cabinet to approve the Brexit treaty.
Both the UK and EU want to schedule a special summit of European leaders at the end of November to sign off the withdrawal deal and an outline declaration of their future relationship.
Brussels has insisted it would only agree to put the wheels in motion for the summit if agreement can be reached on the issue of the Irish border.Brussels has insisted it would only agree to put the wheels in motion for the summit if agreement can be reached on the issue of the Irish border.
Ambassadors from the remaining 27 EU states will meet in Brussels on Wednesday.
If a deal is agreed with the EU, Mrs May then needs to persuade her party - and the rest of Parliament - to support it in a key Commons vote.If a deal is agreed with the EU, Mrs May then needs to persuade her party - and the rest of Parliament - to support it in a key Commons vote.
Meanwhile, following pressure from all sides of the House of Commons, ministers have agreed to provide MPs with a legal assessment of the implications for the UK of the backstop and other controversial aspects of any deal. Conservative Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg said if details of the text reported by Irish broadcaster RTE were true, the UK would become a "vassal state" with Northern Ireland "being ruled from Dublin".
The Democratic Unionists, on whom the PM relies for her Commons majority, said they would vote for Labour's motion urging disclosure of "the full and final advice" given by Attorney General Geoffrey Cox to the cabinet. Such an agreement "failed to deliver on Brexit" and the cabinet should reject it, he told the BBC.
An influential group of Tory Brexiteers also said they would not oppose the move, which was later passed unopposed in the Commons. "I think what we know of this deal is deeply unsatisfactory," he said. "There seems to be growing opposition to these very poor proposals."
Cabinet Office minister David Lidington said Mr Cox, who is the government's senior legal adviser, would make a statement to MPs and take questions ahead of the final vote on any Brexit deal. Meanwhile, following pressure from all sides of the Commons, ministers have agreed to provide MPs with a legal assessment of the implications for the UK of the Irish backstop and other controversial aspects of any deal.
Cabinet Office minister David Lidington said Attorney General Geoffrey Cox would make a statement to MPs and take questions ahead of the final vote on any Brexit deal.
MPs, he said, would get to see "a full reasoned position statement laying out the government's both political and also legal position on the proposed withdrawal agreement".MPs, he said, would get to see "a full reasoned position statement laying out the government's both political and also legal position on the proposed withdrawal agreement".
The concession reflects the wording of a compromise amendment supported by a number of Tory members of the European Research Group which was not selected for debate. The Democratic Unionists' Westminster leader Nigel Dodds said he was pleased Parliament had "asserted its will" as it was imperative that all parties to the deal were clear in what way and for how long it would "legally bind" the UK.
The DUP's Westminster leader Nigel Dodds said he was pleased Parliament had "asserted its will" as it was imperative that all parties to the deal were clear in what way and for how long it would "legally bind" the UK.
In a speech on Monday evening, Mrs May said the "endgame" in the negotiations had been reached and while both sides wanted an agreement, the issues at stake were "immensely difficult".
But Boris Johnson, who quit as foreign secretary in July in protest at Theresa May's strategy, hit out at what he claimed was a "stage-managed delay" in reaching an agreement.