Theresa May announces draft Brexit deal done
Hard-Brexit Tories and DUP call for ministers to block proposed withdrawal agreement

Theresa May has called a special cabinet meeting for later today, after UK and EU officials reached an agreement on the draft text of a Brexit deal.
After months of tortuous negotiations, May will seek cabinet ministers’ backing of the draft text at a 2pm meeting, following a series of one-on-one meetings between the PM and senior ministers at Downing Street last night.
Ministers were given the chance to look over key elements of the agreement, but were forbidden from taking any of the documentation out of the building in an attempt to minimise leaks.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
While the exact details of the 500-page agreement are not yet known, the BBC is reporting that the agreement includes provisions “to guarantee there will not be physical border checks reintroduced in Northern Ireland”, which had become one of the major stumbling blocks of the deal.
Several key hard-Brexit Tories have called for the agreement to be blocked, The Guardian reports, with former foreign secretary Boris Johnson describing the deal as “vassal state stuff”, which would see the UK “bound by laws over which it had no say, which was ‘utterly unacceptable’”.
DUP leader Nigel Dodds has also already indicated that his party, which currently props up the May government, considers the agreement unworkable on the basis that it “appears to be a UK-wide customs agreement but [with] deeper implications for Northern Ireland both on customs and single market”.
The meeting later today could well be the ultimate test of May’s prime ministership, with her party unlikely to continue to back her as leader should she present an agreement that cabinet rejects.
May might have made it to the end of the day without losing any cabinet ministers, but there are “fresh question marks” over Michael Gove and Sajid Javid, The Times says, after what many on both sides of the Brexit debate will consider a “betrayal” by the prime minister.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Quiz of The Week: 24 – 30 May
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
The Week Unwrapped: Will Europe beat China and India to the North Pole?
Podcast Plus, is the man who designed the iPhone going to kill his own creation? And what's going on at the equalities watchdog?
-
Is it finally all change for train Wi-Fi?
In The Spotlight South Western Railway's 5G Wi-Fi service has changed the way passengers connect – but will the new system catch on?
-
Angela Rayner: Labour's next leader?
Today's Big Question A leaked memo has sparked speculation that the deputy PM is positioning herself as the left-of-centre alternative to Keir Starmer
-
Brexit 'reset' deal: how will it work?
In Depth Keir Stamer says the deal is a 'win-win', but he faces claims that he has 'surrendered' to Brussels on fishing rights
-
Are we entering the post-Brexit era?
Today's Big Question Keir Starmer's 'big bet' with his EU reset deal is that 'nobody really cares' about Brexit any more
-
Is Starmer's plan to send migrants overseas Rwanda 2.0?
Today's Big Question Failed asylum seekers could be removed to Balkan nations under new government plans
-
Can Starmer sell himself as the 'tough on immigration' PM?
Today's Big Question Former human rights lawyer 'now needs to own the change – not just mouth the slogans' to win over a sceptical public
-
Has Starmer put Britain back on the world stage?
Talking Point UK takes leading role in Europe on Ukraine and Starmer praised as credible 'bridge' with the US under Trump
-
Trump vows 25% tariffs on EU at Cabinet meeting
Speed Read The tariff threats serve to enhance a growing suspicion that the president views Europe as an adversary, not an ally
-
Why are Europe's leaders raising red flags about Trump's Ukraine overtures to Putin?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Officials from across the continent warn that any peace plan without their input is doomed from the start