The PM spoke to Angela Merkel at 8am where a No10 source says she made clear a deal is ‘overwhelmingly unlikely’, and suggested to Boris Johnson that a deal would never be possible unless Northern Ireland stayed in a customs union, following EU rules (via @bbclaurak)
@bbclaurak The source described the call as ‘challenging’, and said that if that was the EU’s position a deal is ‘essentially impossible not just now, but ever.’ The source described the call as a ‘clarifying moment’ and made clear...
@bbclaurak ... that the EU is ‘willing to torpedo the Good Friday agreement’ and was essentially demanding a veto.
@bbclaurak The PM stressed to Mrs Merkel that in his view, the UK has made a ‘reasonable offer’, but there seemed to be no real desire on the EU side for negotiation. The source said that ‘talks in Brussels are close to breaking down, despite the fact that the UK has moved a long way’.
