Theresa May heads to Brussels to finalise Brexit deal with EU officials ahead of European leaders summit

Theresa May will head to Brussels today to meet with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker in a bid to finalise a Brexit deal ahead of an EU leaders summit on Sunday.

Last week’s publication of a draft agreement sparked outrage among MPs and led to the resignations of Brexit secretary Dominic Raab and work and pensions secretary Esther McVey.

The two sides hope to agree the divorce terms and a plan for future relations before leaders gather to approve the deal this weekend, after the draft was criticised both in Britain and the EU. 

Key terms that have not yet been agreed include European fishing in British waters, the status of Gibraltar and the transition extension.

Spain said it will vote down the deal unless it excludes Gibraltar, however May has insisted that the British territory is included in the agreement.

The crunch meeting comes as Northern Ireland's DUP, which props up May's government through a confidence and supply agreement, abstained on several key Finance Bill votes, sending a warning to the government on the Brexit vote. 

DUP leader Arlene Foster said the draft Brexit deal could undermine the integrity of the UK. 

More than 200 chief executives, founders and entrepreneurs signed an Alliance of British Entrepreneurs letter urging MPs to vote down the deal, saying it does not pass tests set out by May in a speech at Lancaster House last year.