Brexit deal ‘essentially impossible’ after PM’s call with Merkel, source claims

Tonight, the chances of a Brexit deal appear to be slim or none. Or at least, that seems to be the message from a “frank” phone call between Boris Johnson and Angela Merkel.

According to an unnamed Number 10 source, the German chancellor said that a deal without Northern Ireland inside the customs union was “overwhelmingly unlikely”.

Whether or not this is what she said, it provoked fury from the European Council president Donald Tusk who accused Boris Johnson of playing “a stupid blame game” when so much was at stake.