EU negotiators predict Brexit deal to be ‘very close’

Brussels negotiators for the UK's exit from the European Union told diplomats late last night that a deal between the two sides is "very close" to being finalised.

Two sources present at yesterday's meeting suggested to Reuters good progress had been made as the EU began to engage with new British proposals on how to avoid extensive border checks in Ireland.

European Council president delighted Brexiters earlier in the day as he offered a "Canada +++"-style trade deal to the UK, in which Northern Ireland would remain in the customs union and Single Market to avoid a hard border.

Read more: Tusk offers UK a Canada-style trade deal in blow for May's Brexit plan

Today's news pushed sterling up to a 10-week high of 88.19p against the euro, and a five-day high against the dollar of $1.3053.

One negotiator from the meeting said progress was also being made on issues other than Ireland, including on how to enforce the exit agreement and the protection of goods from special origins.

He added that chief negotiator Michel Barnier and his team may be open in principle to the UK's proposition on an emergency Irish border fix, but that it had not yet arrived from London for careful analysis.

The news comes as the DUP's leader in Westminster Nigel Dodds reiterated warnings that the Irish party will not tolerate "tariffs, checks, or anything else between one part of the UK and the other".