Brexit EU summit LIVE: EU leaders issue ultimatum to MPs — back May's deal or get nothing
The prime minister says this is the 'best deal possible' and she will make the case to parliament and to the public
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Your support makes all the difference.EU leaders have challenged MPs to either back Theresa May’s Brexit deal or face up to the economic consequences of crashing out of the bloc.
Heads of its 27 member states took little more than half an hour this morning to rubber-stamp the agreement setting the terms for Britain's departure.
However, the deal now faces a vote in the House of Commons, where the odds appear stacked against it as MPs of all stripes, including a significant portion of the prime minister’s own party, have made their opposition clear.
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Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, warned them the agreement was the “only deal possible” and hopes that a better one could be struck were in vain.
“Those who think by rejecting the deal that they would have a better deal will be disappointed in the first seconds after the rejection of this deal,” he said.
In a veiled plea to MPs Michel Barnier, Europe’s chief negotiator, called on “everyone to face up to their responsibilities”.
Mr Barnier said the deal with the UK was a "necessary step" to advance to the next phase of the negotiations.
"I have worked with my team and negotiated with the UK, never against the UK," he told reporters as he arrived for the summit.
"Now it is time for everybody to take their responsibility. This deal is a necessary step to build the trust between the UK and the EU we need to build.
"The next phase is an unprecedented and ambitious partnership. We will remain allies, partners and friends."
Ms May has written a letter to the British public pleading for the country’s support over the deal.
In her letter she promised a “brighter future” and said that Brexit would be "a moment of renewal and reconciliation for our whole country".
Shadow Northern Ireland secretary Tony Lloyd told Sky News's Sophy Ridge On Sundaythere was a "coalition of the willing" in Parliament ready to reject Theresa May's deal and back a softer Brexit.
The British Parliament almost certainly has a coalition of the willing that would work round a customs union, work round single market standards of the kind that Labour has advocated - but so have a broad swathe of other parties including a large number of Conservatives.
It solves the problem of no border down the Irish Sea which is so damaging from the DUP's point of view, it solves the problem of no border across the island of Ireland.
We can build that coalition in the British Parliament and, frankly, actually it's very hard to believe that the European Union wouldn't see that as a better deal for Europe - it would give frictionless trade from the EU into Britain as well as from the UK into the EU.
Arlene Foster was asked on the Andrew Marr show if there were any circumstances in which she would vote for Theresa May's deal.
The DUP leader was very clear with her response: "No."
Arlene Foster reaffirms the position the DUP have been pushing all week. The party will "review" its confidence and supply agreement with Theresa May if the Brexit deal is passed through the Commons.
Here is our story on Ms Foster's position from earlier in the week:
Ireland's premier has said the approval of the draft Brexit withdrawal agreement by EU leaders at a special summit will allow the talks to move on.
Leo Varadkar said he was pleased to be in Brussels to sign off on the deal, which he said represented the culmination of nearly two years of work.
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's first minister, has hit out at Theresa May's public message saying "almost nothing in this desperate letter is true".
Björn Ulvaeus from Abba says he was "kind of touched" when Theresa May came out to dancing to Dancing Queen at the Conservative Party conference.
Asked if she would support the Prime Minister if a parliamentary defeat triggered a confidence vote in the Government, Ms Foster added: "We will have to see what happens at that time. I think this last couple of weeks should tell all of us that you shouldn't jump ahead of ourselves.
"What we should do is wait to see what develops in that respect."
Former prime minister Tony Blair said another referendum was "the only way you are going to unite the country".
He told BBC's Andrew Marr Show people should choose between the sort of "proper Brexit" advocated by Boris Johnson or remaining in the EU.
Mr Blair, a prominent pro-EU campaigner, said he expected Labour to eventually back another vote.
Asked if there was a majority in Parliament for his position he said: "Not yet but I think it will get there."
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