Brexit deal hangs in balance ahead of key EU summit

The attempt to reach a Brexit deal before tomorrow’s European summit is going down to the wire.

Boris Johnson told Conservative MPs that it was like climbing Mount Everest  and admitted that the summit was still in the clouds.

The European Council President Donald Tusk said he was still hoping for success but acknowledged that some doubts had emerged.

The deal that is being hammered out would leave Northern Ireland in alignment with EU regulations, but outside the European customs union.

That will require a big concession from Boris Johnson’s political allies, the DUP, if there’s any chance of getting it through the House of Commons.

And here they have been burnt before, agreeing to a deal that didn’t survive parliament.