Some thoughts on the @dailytelegraph story: in the negotiations since the March #EUCO the UK has not put forward a formal paper. So, hard to see how there can be a “forensic annihilation” of something that hasn’t been commited to paper. 
Acc to EU sources, the UK *has* been putting forward “reheated” versions of the August customs papers which were largely dismissed at the time as “magical thinking”. So in that sense, they would most likely be rejected again.
However, a definitive rejection of British proposals would not be a call that EU Task Force officials would have made on Wednesday. That kind of call is normally made by EU leaders following a recommendation by @MichelBarnier via the General Affairs Council.
There are still four negotiating rounds to go before the June European Council. That process will be gone thru before there’s a definitive acceptance or rejection or UK proposals on the Irish Protocol.
From another angle, the Telegraph splash will certainly fuel the internal UK debate on whether Britain should stay on the (or a) customs union.
