Critics line up after May wins cabinet support – as it happened

Well, we’re going to call it a night, folks.

I’ll be back with a fresh blog bringing you all of Thursday’s news, which I’ll be launching at about 5:30am. So take the next three hours to have a well-deserved break from politics, and hopefully get some sleep.

Thanks so much for following along.

Early coverage of the deal from European papers appears positive.

Le Figaro has: “May imposes her Brexit agreement on her team.” Le Monde triumphantly carries May’s assessment of her cabinet success as a “decisive step” and calls it a success. Les Echos paints the weariest picture, referring to the pain May had to go through to get the support of her ministers.

In Germany, Die Zeit has “British cabinet accepts May’s Brexit draft”, Der Spiegel says “Theresa May after Brexit-deal: dodged a bullet”, Die Welt leads with “British cabinet agrees to drafted Brexit deal”, Süddeutsche Zeitung has “Brexit deal overcomes important hurdle” and Bild Zeitung “Stage-victory for British premier Theresa May: Cabinet waves through Brexit deal”.

Sam Coates, the Times’ deputy political editor, has some juicy tidbits from inside the cabinet meeting today, including Esther McVey’s “meltdown”, which we have also reported on, and this interesting nugget:

“Matt Hancock, the health secretary, told the room that he could not guarantee people would not die as a result of a no-deal Brexit.”

There’s no explanation of what Hancock may have been referring to.

Simon Coveney, the deputy prime minister of Ireland, has tweeted his thanks to those involved in securing the draft agreement, which he calls “a credible Brexit withdrawal agreement that protects Ireland, our shared island and our future relationship with the UK”.

The Irish leaders have been among the only ones to speak positively about the deal.

More reaction from Scotland

We had some quotes from Nicola Sturgeon earlier in the day, but here is her full statement, in which she labels the deal “bad for Scotland” and said it was like being “blackmailed into a choice between the frying pan or the fire”.

In a phone call with the Prime Minister after the Cabinet meeting, Ms Sturgeon rejected Mrs May’s assertion that Scotland’s interests had been protected in the deal.

I pointed out that there isn’t a single mention of Scotland in the agreement, that it disregards our interests and puts Scotland at a serious competitive disadvantage,” she said.

It is obvious that the Prime Minister can barely unite her Cabinet on this deal and it is also increasingly clear that she will struggle to get a majority for it in Parliament.

In these circumstances it is more important than ever that we are not faced with a false choice between a bad deal and no deal.

No-one should be effectively blackmailed into a choice between the frying pan or the fire.

This proposed deal would be a bad one for Scotland, taking us out of a single market eight times the size of the UK market alone and posing a huge threat to jobs, investment and living standards.

If this deal is indeed rejected by Parliament, then the UK Government must return to the negotiating table to secure a better one.

Our bottom line - short of continued EU membership - is continued, permanent membership of the single market and customs union.

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said:

This is a bad deal for the country. Labour has been clear from the beginning that we need a deal to support jobs and the economy - one that guarantees standards and protections.

The Tories have let down the country with their bungled negotiations and pushed Britain towards a bad deal that will harm jobs, rights and living standards.

The deal undermines the integrity of the UK and would be another example of the Tories playing into the hands of the SNP by putting the future of the UK at risk through their ineptitude and recklessness.

Ruth Davidson and David Mundell threatened to resign if the integrity of the UK was put at risk - and it appears Theresa May has simply ignored them.

Ukip are making hay out of today’s news and are pushing membership of their party in light of the draft agreement, which they describe as “May’s abject surrender”.

The ads also have strong military tone. One features a picture depicting May as Neville Chamberlain holding up his infamous “peace for our time” paper and urges people to “join the fight back”.

Another, from a Twitter account called War Plan Purple, which is an official Ukip account, urges people to “ENLIST”.

Prison minister Rory Stewart has said European Union member states believe Theresa May’s Brexit deal is “too good” for Britain, claiming it reflects what “many EU countries want” – benefits of customs union membership with no freedom of movement.

Speaking on the BBC earlier today, Stewart told Andrew Neill: “From their point of view, this sounds like Norway with control over borders, which is what a lot of European states would want.

“Because from their point of view, from many people in Europe, they feel this is exactly what many European states want. Which is control over immigration and unfettered access to the single market on goods.

“And they believe that these four freedoms are inalienable and would say this is breaking the four freedoms.”

Neil accused Stewart of “making up half a dozen things”, saying: “The customs union is not related to free movement. The single market is different from the customs union. That is related to free movement.”

And this is what the chief whip said when he left the office earlier.

The Guardian’s Dan Sabbagh has been keeping an eye on who has been going in and out of the PM’s office in Westminster this evening.

Iain Dale, LBC presenter and staunch Brexiter, caused a stir earlier tonight when he told Newsnight that he’d rather Britain remain in the EU than leave the union with this deal.

He has published a blog explaining those comments (and says, for the record, that he’d prefer no deal over either remaining or taking this deal). In his blogpost, he describes the agreement reached with the EU by May as a “constitutional outrage” that “reduces Britain – which is still the 5th or 6th largest economy in the world – to the state of an EU controlled province.”

This is not what I voted for on June 23 2016. I am pretty sure it’s not what 17.4 million other people voted for. We now have the worst of all worlds, a Brexit In Name Only - commonly known as BRINO. Not in Europe, but still run by Europe, as William Hague might not have said...

I’m often asked if I regret my Leave vote. I most certainly do not. The reasons why I voted Leave are as valid today as they were two and a half years ago. There is no one to blame for the fact that the negotiations have ended up in this sorry way except for those who have been conducting them...

I regard this deal as so damaging to our country both in the short and long term that if I had to make a choice between voting for this deal or remaining in the European Union, I’d do the latter.

Jacob Rees Mogg was on Peston, where he vented about the deal. Here’s a clip.

When I first heard about the document, obviously it was gossip and it was rumour and it was leaks. Now that the document is available, unfortunately it’s worse than the gossip and the rumour and the leaks. And it fails the prime minister’s own promises, and that’s the most concerning thing, because a prime minister must not promise one thing and do another.

And some more of today’s front pages. None are as colourful as the Sun’s, but the consensus of seems to be that while May may be holding on, it is by the skin of her teeth.

Hello late-night politics-watchers, this is Kate Lyons taking over the blog from Ruth Quinn. Hats off to all my colleagues who have brought you the news as it has unfolded. What a day!

There’s a lot of unhappiness around tonight about the deal, including from the Sun, who blast it on Thursday’s front page. Here’s their front page (right) and their front page on the day after the referendum during happier times (for the Sun, that is).

The Independent’s political correspondent Benjamin Kentish reports that No 10 are allow a vote on amendments before main vote in parliament

Ominous tweet from Arlene Foster. In the language Northern Irish marathon power-sharing talks “frank meetings” are rarely good news for negotiators

Tory Brexiteer MP Anne Marie Morris has told Newsnight she “believes” that the requisite 48 letters from MPs needed to trigger a vote of no confidence have been sent to Graham Brady - chairman of the influential 1922 committee

More frustration from Nicola Sturgeon on the proposed deal

It is obvious that the Prime Minister can barely unite her Cabinet on this deal and it is also increasingly clear that she will struggle to get a majority for it in Parliament.

In these circumstances it is more important than ever that we are not faced with a false choice between a bad deal and no deal.

No-one should be effectively blackmailed into a choice between the frying pan or the fire.

Theresa May’s former chief of staff Nick Timothy has launched an attack on the deal in The Telegraph, branding the deal a “capitulation”.

It is a capitulation not only to Brussels, but to the fears of the British negotiators themselves, who have shown by their actions that they never believed Brexit can be a success.

This includes, I say with the heaviest of hearts, the Prime Minister.

But Matthew O’Toole, a former Downing Street chief press officer for Europe, has this to say about his intervention

Sky News’ political editor Faisal Islam reporting that Jeremy Corbyn is now in talks with Theresa May

As my colleague Heather Stewart has pointed out - the parliamentary arithmetic looks tight - if the DUP vote against the deal then the prime minister could have difficulty getting the deal through parliament without Labour help

It looks like anyone staying up for dramatic resignations can turn in for the night after all

Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has spoken to the prime minister and is not happy with her how the agreement deals with her country’s interests

Our Brexit correspondent Lisa O’Carroll on Leo Varadkar’s support for the deal

My colleague Heather Stewart on reports that a major resignation from the cabinet could be on the cards later tonight:

Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar has called the deal “satisfactory”

We have reached a satisfactory outcome on all key Irish priorities.

We do now have the insurance policy of the backstop if all other efforts fail to produce a better solution.

A rather oddly worded statement has just come through from Scottish secretary David Mundell, who was one of the 13 Scottish Tory MPs to sign a hand-delivered letter to May as she began her crunch cabinet meeting, warning of potential rebellion if the draft agreement kept the UK tied to EU fishing regulations after 2020. He says:

I was content to move to the next stage of the process on the basis that Brexit will deliver for our fishing industry – as I and colleagues set out in our letter – and on the basis that arrangements for Northern Ireland will not undermine the economic or constitutional integrity of the UK.

Mundell has also expressed deep concerns previously that a backstop that creates distinct single market terms for Northern Ireland while Scotland is forced to leave will bolster the SNP’s case for independence. Again, he seems to be saying now that he is satisfied this will not be the case.

The more we learn about cabinet, the more it sounds like one of those 1970s Labour crisis cabinet meetings, which lasted hours because Callaghan’s team was split down the middle. These are from the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg.

Chancellor Philip Hammond and business secretary Greg Clark have held a conference call with British businesses tonight.

According to Sky News, Hammond urged UK business chiefs to back the agreement, arguing that May’s ‘compromise deal’ would protect the economy, as:

Nobody is pretending that we have a perfect solution that will give everyone everything they wanted.”

Several business groups have already warned against a ‘no deal’ scenario tonight.

Miles Celic, CEO of TheCityUK, thinks Britain’s financial sector will welcome parts of the deal, such as the section on financial services.

“The importance of financial services has been acknowledged and its inclusion in the political declaration means that this sector is hardwired into the future negotiations. It also recognises that this is in the mutual economic interests of both sides and – most importantly – of customers.

“It’s encouraging that the declaration is grounded in the principles of regulatory autonomy, transparency and stability, and underpinned by close and structured cooperation. The industry will also welcome the clarity on the legally-binding transition period.

Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chairman at the City of London Corporation, also sees positive aspects to the deal:

The proposed framework for the future relationship provides welcome clarity and offers a foundation for financial services

In particular, the commitment to close regulatory and supervisory cooperation is a positive move that recognises the need for any deal to reflect the City’s unique role in providing services to households and businesses across Europe.

Carolyn Fairbairn, CBI Director-General, said May’s compromise deal has led the UK “one step away from the nightmare precipice of no deal”.

Here is the Austrian chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, on the deal.

The translations are from Twitter.

I am very pleased with the #Brexit agreement, which has now been approved by the British cabinet. I now also hope that the British parliament will give its approval tomorrow. I would like to thank chief negotiator @MichelBarnier for his commitment.

The result is a good one, because it #HardBrexit guarantees that an avoided u there will be no hard border between Ireland & Northern Ireland. The agreement also guarantees that there is a basis for negotiating a future new relationship between the EU and the EU.

The result will now be examined as soon as possible at a meeting of #EU EU-27 ministers, as well as at an extraordinary meeting of the European council.

From the Financial Times’ Laura Hughes

Gerard Batten, the Ukip leader, has released this statement about the draft deal.

In the morning we can expect a complete betrayal of the referendum result. Mrs May has threatened the cabinet with accepting her Not Really Leaving the EU Deal or the threat of a general election and the spectre of a Corbyn Marxist government.

This is exactly what I have predicted since the historic and spectacular referendum result. Ukip’s position is unilateral and unconditional withdrawal.

The real struggle to leave the EU now begins in earnest. UKIP will never give up the fight for a complete and total exit from the EU.

If this surrender deal is implemented, UKIP will be the political resistance movement, fighting on the electoral beaches, fields, lanes, and landing grounds. UKIP will never surrender.

Here is the text of the statement that the European commission has issued tonight about the draft withdrawal deal.

Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, said Theresa May’s statement showed May could “barely unite her cabinet”. Sturgeon said:

It is obvious that the prime minister can barely unite her cabinet on this deal, and ‎it is also increasingly clear that she will struggle to get a majority for it in Parliament.

In these circumstances it is more important than ever that we are not faced with a false choice between a bad deal and no deal. No one should be effectively blackmailed into a choice between the frying pan or the fire.

She added that if the deal was rejected by the Commons “then the UK government must return to the negotiating table to secure a better one”.

Our bottom line – short of continued EU membership – is continued, permanent membership of the single market and customs union.

This is from BuzzFeed’s Alex Wickham.

Here is more on what Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, said at his news conference.

From the BBC’s Katya Adler

My colleague Dan Sabbagh has found the section of the document explaining how, under the Irish backstop, Northern Ireland would have to comply with single market rules on regulation.

More on what happened at cabinet.

From the Telegraph’s Christopher Hope

And this is from ITV’s Robert Peston

Here are some key features of the draft withdrawal agreement flagged up by Alex Barker, the FT’s Brussels bureau chief.

• The deal would allow the transition to be extended, to a date as yet unspecified.

• The UK would have to contribute to the EU to extend the transition, but not as much as if it were a full member, the text says.

• Any dispute about the agreement involving the interpretation of EU law would be settled by the European court of justice (ECJ), not by the arbitration panel being set up to settle other disputes arising from the agreement.

Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, is giving a briefing in Brussels now about the deal.

My colleague Jennifer Rankin is following it.

And here is the second document out tonight - a seven-page outline of the political declaration on the framework for the future relationship (pdf).

The text of the withdrawal agreement, and the outline political declaration on the future framework, will be published later this evening, we’ve been told.

May says it is her job to explain decisions.

She will do that tomorrow in parliament.

I firmly believe with my head and my heart that this is in the best interests of our entire United Kingdom.

And that’s it.

I will post the words soon.

From the Telegraph’s Gordon Rayner

From the Times’ Sam Coates.

Gavin Barwell is Theresa May’s chief of staff.

From the Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable

From my colleague Heather Stewart

Here is the Spectator’s James Forsyth on the ERG push for a no confidence vote in Theresa May.

UPDATE: This is from the Mail on Sunday’s Dan Hodges.

The cabinet meeting is winding up, it is being reported.

Here is more from the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on the news that Tory Brexiters in the European Research Group (ERG) are starting to push for a no confidence vote in Theresa May.

Reminder: under Conservative party rules, a no confidence vote in the leader is held if 15% of MPs (48 of them) write a letter to Sir Graham Brady, chair of the backbench 1922 committee, demanding one. Letters are submitted anonymously, and they can be withdrawn. Brady is the only person who knows how many letters he has in his draw, and although there have been reports claiming that 40-plus letters are already in, Brady has said that some people who claim to have submitted letters don’t tell the truth. If 48 letters do go in, Brady has to notify the party, a confidence vote gets held, and the leader gets to stay if he or she wins a majority. Iain Duncan Smith lost a vote of this kind in 2003.

Paul Goodman, editor of the ConservativeHome website, says Kuenssberg’s report is accurate.

UDPATE: In an interview published two days ago Jacob Rees-Mogg, the ERG chair, actually said a leadership contest could happen by accident.

CORRECTION: This post originally said John Major won a vote of this kind in 1995, but Iain Duncan Smith lost one in 2003. The latter point is correct, but in 1995 Major beat John Redwood in a leadership contest, when party rules were different. That was a leadership election not a no confidence vote.

Four hours in, the cabinet meeting is still going on, but in Brussels the meeting of EU ambassadors has at last wrapped up. These are from BuzzFeed’s Alberto Nardelli.

Here is my colleague Daniel Boffey on how the deal was negotiated.

From the Daily Mirror’s Jason Beattie

The Westminster leaders of the five opposition parties in the Commons - Jeremy Corbyn (Labour), Ian Blackford (SNP), Vince Cable (Lib Dems), Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru) and Caroline Lucas (the Greens) - have written a joint letter to Theresa May saying that she should come to the Commons tonight to give a statement about her Brexit deal instead of giving a press conference. They say:

We are writing to you as a matter of urgency to demand that you make a statement to the House of Commons on the withdrawal agreement and future framework between the EU and the UK.

Your ministerial code is clear that important statements of policy should be made to the House of Commons first and not to the press.

It is entirely inappropriate for you to brief the press, through a press conference as we understand you plan to do this evening before coming to the House to make a statement and to be questioned by elected members of parliament.

Mr Speaker made clear earlier that he would be willing to facilitate a statement from you at any time today.

In the past, particularly in the Betty Boothroyd era, the speaker used to object strongly when ministers ignored the convention that important government announcements should be made in the Commons chamber first. But in recent years it has become a rule more honoured in the breach than in the observance.

Some of us think that that is quite sensible, and that if MPs get to question ministers about announcements after the details have been reported in the media, they tend to ask better questions, but that is not a fashionable view amongst parliamentarians like the SNP’s Tommy Sheppard.

The DUP have yet to see the text or getting any briefing from the government on the Brexit agreement, the party’s leader Arlene Foster has confirmed.

She says she intends to see Theresa May this evening but warned the party would vote against a deal that involved any difference between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

There would be “consequences” for the prime minister she said. She told BBC Northern Ireland:

Obviously we are very concerned about the sort of narrative building up around the prime minister’s proposal ...

She has stood in this very place and said she would not break up the United Kingdom.

If she decides to go against all of that then there will be consequences, of course there will be consequences. We did not as unionists support a deal that broke up the United Kingdom.

This is from Sky’s Beth Rigby.

The British Ports Association said it would still be unable to plan for Brexit even if the cabinet gave Theresa May their support. “We may be heading into negotiations 2.0 after today,” said Richard Ballantyne, the BPA chief executive. “There is some way to go before freight operators will know exactly what the trading environment will be,” he said.

MPs debated the second reading of the healthcare (international arrangements) bill this afternoon. During it Sarah Wollaston, the Conservative MP who chairs the Commons health committee, said there was no version of Brexit that would benefit people who relied on the NHS, social care, scientific research or public health, “only varying degrees of harm”. She said:

The Brexit reality we’re about to be presented with is very different from the fantasy version of Brexit that was presented during the referendum campaign.

People will remember the easiest deal in history, the financial bonanza for the NHS. Whereas in fact the Brexit reality is that there’ll be a very significant Brexit penalty for the most damaging form of Brexit in particular.

We’re looking at effects across the entire health and care and research system.

She also said Brexit was like surgery.

We are all being wheeled into the operating theatre for major constitutional, economic and social surgery without informed consent. I’d ask the minister please to consider how that will be, 136 days from now after we crash out with no deal, when the serious consequences of that start to unfold and unravel and hit into real people’s lives.

And this is from the Times’ Matt Chorley.

At this rate we may have fallen out of the EU anyway by the time it wraps up ...

Amid all the criticism of Theresa May’s deal, here are two tweets, chosen relatively randomly, from two commentators who have got positive things to say about it.

From the Financial Time’s Gideon Rachman

And this is from the Social Market Foundation’s James Kirkup.

The food industry is still planning for no deal, the chairman of the Food and Drink Federation has said. “This is a chink of light there is no doubt about that,” Ian Wright told the BBC. “But we still don’t know what the relationship is with our biggest partners, 40% of food comes from the EU and that is a really big worry for us,” he added.

He said his members will still be preparing for no deal until January “because that is the prudent thing to do” amid continuing uncertainty over Brexit.

These are from Sky’s Beth Rigby.

Here are more pictures of the Brexit campaigners in Westminster today.

Pro Brexit

Anti Brexit

In the Commons Valerie Vaz, the shadow leader of the Commons, used a point of order to say that she thought Theresa May would give a press conference about the deal at 9pm tonight. She said that May should come to the Commons and give a statement instead. It was a replay of the argument that took place at the end of PMQs. (See 12.49am.)

Dame Rosie Winterton, the deputy speaker who was in the chair, said she thought the statement would be tomorrow.

If Vaz is right about the press conference being at 9pm, that is bad news for journalists. We’ve been told to expect the deal to be published at around 7pm (assuming the cabinet approves it), then a press conference afterwards.

Tony Blair, the Labour former prime minister and one of the most prominent campaigners for a second referendum on Brexit, has been giving a speech this afternoon. We previewed some of what he would say earlier. (See 6am.) My colleague Patrick Wintour has more highlights from what he said.

The International Monetary Fund has offered Theresa May some well-time support over Brexit.

In a new report, the IMF have backed chancellor Philip Hammond’s claim that the economy will bounce back once an exit deal is agreed. The Fund believes Britain could grow faster than expected next year (currently 1.5%) if Britain gets a deal that guarantees frictionless trade with the European Union.

But the Fund also warns that a no-deal Brexit would wipe out around 6% of GDP (over an unspecified time), with the City and the chemicals industry badly hit. It adds:

“Directors emphasised the importance of a timely agreement with the EU, accompanied by an implementation period to avoid a cliff-edge exit in March 2019 and to allow firms and workers time to adjust to the new relationship.”

Channel 4’s Helia Ebrahimi has tweeted more details:

The BBC’s Adam Fleming spoke to Sabine Weyand, deputy to Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, today, to find out whether, as the Times (paywall) reports, she really did say that under the Brexit deal the UK “must align their rules but the EU will retain all the controls”. (See 8.25am.) He did not get an answer.

Earlier, at PMQs, Theresa May signalled that the government was about to do a U-turn on fixed odds betting terminals. That U-turn has now been announced, and my colleague Rob Davies has the details here.

The Daily Telegraph’s chief political correspondent Christopher Hope has tweeted that he’s heard two cabinet ministers will resign today.

The pair: international development secretary Penny Mordaunt, and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Esther McVey.

This is putting the pound under a little pressure. Sterling has dipped back to $1.295 against the US dollar, having risen to $1.30 this morning.

It seems that Downing Street is aware that the opinions being heard so far about Theresa May’s Brexit plans are currently mainly coming from the two opposite sides of the debate – the ERG and remainers.

Hence, I’m told, an order went out earlier today from the Conservative whips for moderate Tory MPs to start tweeting their supportive views. But as one centrist Tory said: “It’s not easy to opine on a deal when you haven’t even seen anything yet.”

The MP’s view on initial reports of May’s plan is that it seems not entirely ideal, but is “better than all the other options”.

Jeremy Corbyn’s spokesman has made clear Labour’s first priority, if the government’s Brexit deal fails to pass the Commons will be to press for its own, alternative plan.

Speaking to journalists after prime minister’s questions, he said if MPs reject the prime minister’s deal, in a vote expected to take place early next month, “our priority is for a different, alternative Labour plan for Brexit, which puts jobs and living standards first”.

Corbyn irked many Labour members last week by saying, “we can’t stop Brexit”.

Pressed repeatedly on the question, his spokesman laid out Labour’s carefully-constructed position, as agreed in the party’s conference in September. He said:

We are committed to respect the result of the referendum - and that’s why we’re putting the case for a different, alternative plan for Brexit.

And we’ve then set out a series of steps, which are well down the track, in which all options remain on the table.

Obviously, from a technical point of view, Brexit can be stopped, that’s clearly the case.

But Jeremy said, “we” can’t stop Brexit. That’s not either our policy, nor our priority, nor do we have the mechanism to do it.

He added that if May loses the meaningful vote, Labour would effectively consider it to be a vote of no confidence in the government (which it wouldn’t be formally, under the fixed term parliament act). He said:

Clearly, if the government is defeated on this absolutely central part of its program, then it would have shown it was unable to govern, and unable to deliver the most essential priorities for the country.

Either these cabinet ministers are excellent poker players, or they really weren’t looking forward to discussing the prime minister’s Brexit deal.

The chief whip had a similar expression:

At least Andrea Leadsom managed a smile for the cameras:

And here’s Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, whose advice could be crucial today:

EU ambassadors are arriving at a meeting in Brussels for a briefing on the Brexit deal. As the BBC’s Adam Fleming reports, it may go on for a while.

This is from Sky’s Kate McCann.

The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg has been watching ministers arriving at No 10 for the 2pm cabinet meeting.

In Germany, there was a cautious welcome for last night’s Brexit breakthrough, though most politicians left it up to Brussels to comment. Speaking to the German broadcaster ARD, Manfred Weber, the head of the European People’s party (EPP) in the European parliament and a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU) said:

The white smoke is rising. We have positive signals that, after months and weeks of torturous debate, it will now come to an agreement. We Europeans have put a lot of suggestions on the table about what a potential solution would look like. And now we’re really, so to speak, at completion.

Concretely that means we will get a transition phase to avoid damage, above all for the economy but also for affected citizens, for instance Germans in Great Britain. And we want to clarify in the long term that there will be no border in Northern Ireland. It was successful. The Northern Irish border will not be set up as a hard border and to that extent we have achieved some of the goals that we have as Europeans.

Asked whether he thought the current agreement will be enough for the EU, Weber said:

We will look at the text, just the same as our colleagues in the British parliament. I can’t promise anything today.

Meanwhile, Katja Leikert, the deputy chair of the CDU/CSU parliamentary faction, used Twitter to praise the breakthrough as “good news” and said it was “high time” for an agreement. “Now it’s about getting over a few more hurdles. The next thing is for British cabinet and parliament to approve the draft,” she said.

Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has described Theresa May’s Brexit deal as “devastating” for Scotland. Speaking to the BBC, she said that, from what she knows of the deal so far, it would mean “the worst of all possible worlds for Scotland”.

It would take Scotland out of the single market, which would be bad enough in and of itself.

But it would do so while leaving us competing for investment and jobs with Northern Ireland, which would effectively be staying in the single market.

That would be devastating for jobs and investment in Scotland and not something that anybody should be prepared to accept.

The SNP’s Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, confirmed this morning that his party’s 35 MPs would oppose the deal in its current form.

But Sturgeon insisted that rejecting the current proposals in the House of Commons would not make a no-deal Brexit inevitable, but opened up the possibility for getting “better options like full single market and customs union membership back on the table”.

She added that it would also allow those arguing for another referendum to be held on the Brexit terms – as the SNP has done – to make their case.

Here is my colleague Rafael Behr’s take on the Brexit deal.

And here is an extract.

During the past few weeks two contradictory propositions have been circulating in Westminster with roughly equal currency. One is that somehow a strain of pragmatism that is innate to British politics, coupled with raw terror of chaos, will drive May’s bargain into law. The other is that, with hardline Tories, the DUP and Labour all finding reasons to hate May’s plan, there simply aren’t the votes for it. Only one of those propositions can hold.

Overnight, Brexit has ceased to be a haze of slogans, ambitions, pledges and myths. It is now a piece of paper in the prime minister’s hand. There is no more “Brexit means Brexit”. There is a deal that either serves the national interest or betrays it. The detail will emerge in the days to come, but two things can be said with certainty. First, May’s route presents safer passage to the future than is envisaged in the wild fantasy of quitting the EU with no deal at all. Second, the terms that May has negotiated offer inferior status, market access, influence and power on the European continent and in the world than Britain has enjoyed as an EU member. Plenty of MPs know it, too; comfortably a majority. The question now is how many have the courage to say so.

Germany’s economy minister, Peter Altmaier, has warned that both Britain and the European Union will be worse off once Brexit has taken place.

Last year, Altmaier was critical of UK ministers who had urged him to help make Brexit a win-win for both sides, something he sees as impossible.

Pro and anti-Brexit campaigners have descended on Westminster today to lobby MPs ahead of this afternoon’s crunch cabinet meeting:

Another point of order. The SNP’s Kirsty Blackman says the first minister of Gibraltar has been briefed on the Brexit deal, but not the first minister of Scotland.

David Lidington, the Cabinet Office minister, responds with his own point of order. He says the Scottish and Welsh first ministers will be briefed on the deal once cabinet has taken a decision.

Tom Brake, the Lib Dems’ Brexit spokesman, asks May to confirm that her Brexit plan will leave the UK a rule-taker. Will May agree to a people’s vote?

May says the people voted to leave. The government will deliver on that, she says.

Martin Vickers, a Conservative, asks if it will be for the UK to decide on its own who fishes in UK waters after Brexit.

May says after Brexit the UK will have control of its own waters.

Labour’s Mike Kane asks about Asia Bibi and whether May agrees the UK should be a beacon for human rights.

May says the government’s main concern is for the safety of Bibi. A number of countries are in discussion about providing a safe haven for her. It would not be right to say more at this state, she says.

Labour’s Rosena Allin-Khan says the Brexit deal will be bad for jobs and the economy. Will May put it to the people, either through a general election or a referendum.

May says the deal will be good for the economy. There was a referendum, and people voted to leave. That is what the government will deliver, she says.

Sir Roger Gale, the Conservative MP, asks if the government will publish details of the Brexit deal as soon as possible, so that MPs can comment on the facts.

May says, if this deal is taken forward, the details will be published.

Labour’s Joan Ryan asks about knife crime. May says the government has protected police funding.

Ken Clarke, the Tory pro-European, says one rumour about Brexit is that the government will publish a white paper later today with details of the Brexit deal. Will a statement be made when it is produced? This parliament must decide what will happen next. Parliament should not have to wait another 24 hours. He says he wishes May well for obtaining a majority for a course of action in the national interest.

May says the cabinet will meet to look at the draft agreements produced by the negotiating teams. She will act in the national interest. And she says she will return to the House to explain the outcome.

MPs should “when?” May just says she will return to the House.

She says, subsequently, there will be briefings for MPs before the meaningful vote.

Labour’s Ruth Smeeth asks about universal credit, and its impact on claimants. May says the previous system did not work

Kwasi Kwarteng, a Conservative, asks about a 100-year-old bellringer in his constituency, believed to be the oldest in the world. May says this is a considerable record and wishes the constituent happy birthday.

Labour’s Yvonne Fovargue asks about funding for language teaching in her constituency. May says funding is set to be higher than at any time in history.

Alec Shelbrooke, a Conservative, asks about investment in the railways. May says the investment is not millions but billions. But it is vital that Network Rail delivers on time.

Labour’s Wes Streeting asks about a pregnant mother in his constituency shot with a crossbow. He says weapons like this should not be readily on sale.

May says this is a terrible and tragic case. Crossbow are already under strict controls, she says, but she says the government will consider the case for tighter legislation.

Mike Wood, a Conservative, asks about reductions in business rates. May says these changes should help local businesses.

Political journalists are watching the front bench closely as PMQs unfolds...

Labour’s Chris Elmore says the Brexit deal will leave the UK weaker. Not his words, but Jo Johnson’s. Why won’t May admit she does not have support in parliament?

May says parliament will have a lock on the new rules.

Ian Blackford, the SNP leader, asks about the joint letter from opposition parties to the PM (see below). Why does May want to gag votes when MPs vote on the Brexit deal.

May says the motion will be amendable. But people will expect parliament to vote on the deal.

Blackford says May is hamstrung, and looking defeated. She is reduced to playing games, rather than playing fair. To protect jobs, Scotland must stay in the customs union and the single market. If Northern Ireland can get a separate deal, why not Scotland.

May says the SNP gambles with Scotland’s future every time it talks about independence.

Peter Bone, a Tory Brexiter, says May is “not delivering the Brexit people voted for” if media reports of the deal are accurate. He says she will lose the support of Tory MPs and Tory voters.

May says the deal will end free movement. It will deliver on the referendum vote, while protecting jobs.

Corbyn quotes Dominic Raab saying he only recently became aware of how important the Dover-Calais trade route was. When did May become aware of how important this was?

May says the government is aware of this. She turns to Labour. Corbyn said you can’t stop Brexit, but Keir Starmer said you can. What is Labour policy?

Corbyn says Labour respects the result of the referendum. But it does not respect this shambolic mess. If Raab is still in office this afternoon, can May tell him 10,000 lorries arrive at Dover every day. This “woeful ignorance” by a person in high office is disturbing, he says. He says the goverment wants to impose a false choice on parliament, between no deal and May’s deal. A sensible, alternative plan could bring together parliament and the country. Neither of May’s options are acceptable.

May says the “woeful ignorance” lies with Labour thinking you can build a better economy by increasing spending by £1 trillion and raising taxes. The government will not re-run the referendum, she says. She says the government will deliver Brexit, and the UK will leave the EU.

Corbyn asks May to confirm that the UK will be able to unilaterally withdraw from the backstop as the plan.

May says there will be a backstop. But neither side wants it to be used. Any backstop must be temporary, she says.

Corbyn says May’s “non-answer” shows that parliament won’t have that right. Liam Fox said he would have 40 trade deals ready to sign straight after Brexit. How many have been negotiated?

May says the government is negotiating on two fronts - to maintain existing trade deal, and for new ones. If Corbyn is interested in trade deals, he should sort out Labour’s policy. He said he wanted trade deals. But he also wants to be in the customs union. You can’t have both, she says.

Jeremy Corbyn says, after two years of bungled negotiations, from what we know of the government’s deal “it’s a failure in its own terms”. It does not deliver for the whole country. It breaches the PM’s own red lines. It does not support jobs and industry. And the government has not prepared for no deal. Will she still offer parliament a choice between her deal and no deal.

May says Corbyn used to complain that the government had not reached a deal. Now it is close to a deal, he is still complaining. He does not want a deal, she says.

Corbyn says May has not convinced many Tory MPs. He quotes from what Jo Johnson said last week about the Brexit talks being a failure of statecraft, the worst since Suez. He asks about the Sabine Weyand summary of the deal. (See 8.25am.)

May says she is getting a good deal for the UK.

This is from the BBC’s Joey D’Urso.

As the Irish government keeps its response to the proposed Brexit deal low key, media analysts declared potential victory over Dublin’s insistence on a backstop to avert a hard border between the republic and Northern Ireland.

“If the emerging shape of the backstop is reflected in the final withdrawal agreement and – crucially – passed through the House of Commons, then the government can claim a huge success,” Fiach Kelly wrote in the Irish Times.

The prospect of the UK remaining in customs arrangement with the European Union would be another win for Dublin as it would protect east-west trade between Ireland and Britain.

With an eye on a possible general election in the next few months the taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, and tanaiste, Simon Coveney, will have to tread a fine line between telling voters the Fine Gael-led government prevailed in negotiations without further provoking Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist party, which could sink the deal at Westminster.

This is from the Sun’s Harry Cole.

This is from a DUP MLA (member of the legislative assembly). It has just been retweeted by the DUP leader Arlene Foster.

Tom Newton Dunn, political editor of The Sun, reports that international development secretary Penny Mordaunt wants “further assurances” before she backs the Brexit deal.

Apparently she won’t unleash ‘fireworks’ at the cabinet meeting this afternoon, though.

Here is the Evening Standard’s splash. The Standard, of course, is edited by George Osborne, the remain-voting Tory who was sacked as chancellor by Theresa May.

Five months after resigning from the government over Brexit, former justice minister Phillip Lee says he cannot vote for the deal when it comes before parliament.

Speaking on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show, Lee insists that it should go to a people’s vote, saying:

Where we’re going to end up is not where was promised. This is political fraud, and I’m not putting my name to it.

If the public, having read the deal, having understood that Northern Ireland is going to be treated differently, having understood that we’re going to be taking the obligations but not the benefits of EU membership...

If they understand all that and vote for it, then I’m a democrat and I’ll respect that. None of that appeared on the side of a bus in 2016.

Michel Barnier will not be the person briefing EU ambassadors today on behalf of the EU, Schinas says.

Q: If things happen in London, and through the EU meeting today, will there be further updates?

Schinas says yes. There could be announcements today or in the coming days.

Q: Does the text include a Northern Ireland-specific backstop plan?

Schinas says he is not able to comment at this point.

Q: If the UK cabinet or parliament reject this deal, is there the time or the willingness to reopen negotiations?

Schinas says he will not speculate on that.

Schinas is now taking questions.

Q: You did not mention Brexit in your opening remarks. Can you tell us what has been agreed, and what are the next steps?

Schinas says the negotiators have been working intensively on a withdrawal agreement and a future partnership document. Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, briefed ambassadors on this. The cabinet will meet this afternoon. And the EU will brief member states this afternoon.

He says the EU is not commenting on the moment. But it will brief when it is able to. “So stay tuned,” he concludes.

In Brussels the European commission’s chief spokesman, Margaritis Schinas, is holding his regular briefing. You can watch a live feed here.

I’m monitoring it for Brexit news.

This is from my colleague Jessica Elgot.

Here are some random tweets on the deal.

From the Sunday Times’ Tim Shipman

From Rupert Harrison, who was chief of staff to George Osborne when Osborne was chancellor

From the Labour peer Stewart Wood

Former Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern has declared the Brexit agreement as a “good deal” for Ireland but a “hard sell” for Theresa May.

Ahern, who was taoiseach for 11 years and was one of the architects of the peace process in Northern Ireland, also said Theresa May could go to the cabinet today holding her head high.

He said the UK-wide customs arrangement, instead of an discrete backstop for the Irish border, was a “victory” for her. He said:

That has been achieved by [Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator] making a big concession. If I was addressing the British cabinet, I would remind them that it was Theresa May who asked for a temporary customs-arrangement.

In Greece, where Brexit negotiations have been closely watched - and bemoaned by officials - the state-run TV channel, ERT, has described the coming hours as a day for reckoning for Theresa May. “Today may prove to be one of the most difficult days of the British prime minister’s political career since, to great degree, it will also be decisive for the cohesion of the cabinet,” said the channel reporting developments.

Given Greece’s status as the euro zone’s weakest link, politicians across the board frequently lament the prospect of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU fearing it will ultimately pave the way to a Teutonic takeover of the continent.

Under the headline “Say a prayer for Great Britain,” the news portal, Postscript, has just declared: “The hours seem to be endless since [it was announced] on Tuesday evening that a [preliminary] deal was cut between the EU and Great Britain. More than anything it will be anguish for London, primarily, that will ensue. … say a prayer for Great Britain and perhaps also for Europe itself. The future is becoming darker.”

Here are pictures of Chris Grayling, the transport secretary, and Penny Mordaunt, the international development secretary, leaving Downing Street this morning. They are both prominent Brexiters. Neither of them spoke to journalists as they came out. You’ll have to decide for yourself by looking at the pictures (which is not always the worst way of working out what’s going on) whether they are:

a) Pleased as punch

b) Reluctantly minded to okay May’s deal.

c) Wondering what to include in the resignation letter

Chris Grayling, the Brexiter transport secretary, was “tight-lipped”, in the words of the Press Association, as he left Downing Street this morning.

He was also there last night, and did not look especially cheerful as he left.

Here is the scene in Downing Street. Liz Truss, the chief secretary to the Treasury, was the most recent person to arrive, going in about 40 minutes ago.

Ireland’s taoiseach Leo Varadkar is expected to make a statement at noon in the Irish parliament, sources say.

This is from Sarah Vine, the Daily Mail columnist who is married to Michael Gove, the Brexiter environment secretary.

That seems to be a reference to people like Mark Francois. (See 9.42am.) Gove himself is reportedly backing the deal, although apparently with certain reservations.

Here’s more pressure from the European Research Group, via the BBC’s Norman Smith:

Mark Francois, deputy chair of the European Research Group, the faction representing around 50 Tory MPs pushing for a harder Brexit, told the Today programme this morning that he thought there would be cabinet resignations today over the Brexit deal. But he would not predict how many.

Cabinet ministers would have to make a choice, he said. He told the programme:

People around the cabinet table, in their heart of hearts, know that.

We and the rest of the country will be watching very carefully to see what happens at cabinet today, but there are a number of cabinet ministers who deep down very much oppose this.

They will have to look into their hearts and decide whether a Jaguar and a red box and a bunch of sycophantic civil servants calling you ‘Minister’ is more important that the destiny of your country.

Boris Johnson, the Brexiter former foreign secretary, says the Times report claiming that Sabine Weyand, deputy to the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, thinks the EU would “retain all the controls” under this deal (see 8.25am), reinforces his claim that it is unacceptable.

Sophie in ‘t Veld, a Dutch MEP who is the deputy to the European parliament’s chief spokesman, Guy Verhofstadt, told the Today programme this morning that the proposal to keep the UK in a temporary customs union was not “part of a cunning plan of the devious Europeans to keep the UK in a customs union forever”. She explained:

None of us, neither you or I, have actually read the document, but from what we hear this is going to be part of the backstop solution and a new relationship will have to be negotiated between the UK and the EU. It all depends on how the negotiations proceed.

She also said the “real problem” in the negotiation was in London. She went on:

The real problem doesn’t lie there. The real problem lies within the UK, within the government, within the Tory party, between the parties, because there has not been any agreement over the relationship with the EU between any of them over the last two years.

That is the real problem, because if the UK had a single agreed line, backed by the majority of parties and the majority of MPs, then the whole situation would not be so unclear.

The Irish government has said it does not want to see any “hardening” of the border in the Irish sea.

Senator Neale Richmond, the only politician put up by the government to do media on Wednesday, also hinted that the prime minister Leo Varadkar had not seen the full text of the withdrawal agreement.

Varadkar, and his deputy Simon Coveney, had a two hour tele-conference call with Ireland’s “sherpa” in Brussels last night. He has called his ministers to a specially convened cabinet meeting at 9.30 this morning.

Richmond said the “priority” for Ireland was a future relationship with the UK to protect the close trading relationship and it was in nobody’s interest to see the “backstop come into play”. He told RTE’s Morning Ireland:

The priority will always be that in the next transition period we can negotiate that deep and meaningful trade, customs and regulatory arrangement between the EU and the UK as a whole. That will ensure not only is there no hard border on the island of Ireland but there is no hardening of the border down the Irish sea. That’s something the government is keen to achieve and I think can achieve.

Asked whether the deal was not as the DUP’s Sammy Wilson has said a “humiliation” for the UK and Northern Ireland, Richmond said that was far from the case.

“There is no ambition to humiliate anyone. Whatever the deal will be it won’t be a good deal, because there simply is no such thing as a good deal,” he told RTE’s Morning Ireland.

City traders are preparing for the pound to either soar or tumble once this afternoon’s cabinet meeting has played out.

Sterling ‘implied volatility’ (which measures investors buying protection against sharp swings in the currency) has jumped this morning, to its highest level since the 2017 general election.

It shows today’s Brexit cabinet meeting is the most significant event for the UK economy in over a year.

Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, is flying to London, Sky’s David Blevins reports. She has said she is not willing to see Northern Ireland “cast adrift”.

On the Today programme Katya Adler, the BBC’s Europe editor, has just said that some EU ambassadors at the Friday meeting dispute the account printed in the Times of what Sabine Weyand said. (See 8.25am.) Adler said one person who was there just said Weyand described the withdrawal agreement text as a basis for future discussions.

The Remain-supporting Tory MP Anna Soubry repeated her backing for a second referendum, but she stopped short of saying she would reject the current deal in parliament.

She told Today:

I have always said that the prime minister could deliver on the referendum by us leaving the European Union but in effect remaining in the old common market, the single market, and a customs union. So how near that is going to be to this deal obviously remains to be seen.”

Things have changed so much and people, including myself, have learnt so much more about all of this, I think it is right that whatever the deal is, and that it includes if parliament can’t pass or won’t pass the prime minister’s deal, that it goes back to the British people.

The best deal that we have with the European Union is the deal that we currently have with European Union. I think there are a lot of people who as they have seen Brexit unfold, they have looked at the reality of it, are now understanding and realising that the truth is that our country has made a terrible mistake. And we should have the right to revisit the decision that we made over two and a half years ago.

We are a member of the European Union, we have not left ... If we leave we will never get the same terms that we have now.

Hague says, if he were still in cabinet, he would advise colleagues to look at “the big picture”. If you want to maintain trade with the EU, and keep the UK together, then a deal is going to look pretty much like this one, he says.

And he says, if the cabinet does not stick together, there is no attractive alternative government available to the country.

Q: As Tory leader you said you wanted to be in Europe but not run by it. Isn’t this the opposite?

Hague says, under this deal, the UK would be able to have control of its own immigration policy. It would also stop paying into the EU’s budget, and leave the common agricultural policy and the common fisheries policies.

He suggests it was never realistic to think the UK could leave the EU without making compromises.

Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Matthew Weaver.

William Hague, the Conservative former foreign secretary and former party leader, is about to be interviewed on the Today programme about the Brexit deal.

There’s little sign of Brexit enthusiasm in the City of London this morning.

Yesterday sterling hit a seven-month high against the euro, as the markets welcomed the news that a draft withdrawal agreement was ready.

However, the excitement was soon tempered by the criticism from Brexit-leaning MPs overnight; investors are now fretting that some cabinet members might not back the plan.

Jeffrey Donaldson’s warning that May’s plan “isn’t the right Brexit” also sent a shiver through the trading floors.

This means City firms are now trying to juggle the parliamentary arithmetic, to decide if the deal is likely to be backed by enough MPs.

Kallum Pickering of German bank Berenberg told clients this morning:

Until the text of the agreement is published, and the various Brexit-factions of government take their positions, it is difficult to judge exactly how the numbers are shaping up ahead of the parliamentary vote. Suffice to say that, the Prime Minister may have a political mountain to climb.

While the whips are likely to be already doing the rounds in her own party, May will probably be forced to court opposition bench MPs to boost the chances of getting the deal through.

So the pound is bobbing around the $1.30 mark against the US dollar this morning, still 13.5% below its levels before the referendum:

Next up on Today is the shadow business secretary, Rebecca Long-Bailey, who was repeatedly pressed on whether Brexit can be stopped - a reference to Jeremy Corbyn’s claim to German newspaper last week that Labour could not stop Brexit.

She dismisses the question as hypothetical and refused to give a straight answer.

“What we have called for is a permanent customs union arrangement,” she said.

Asked if Labour will back the deal she said Labour MP’s would have to see the details first. “When we see the detail we will make an assessment,” she said.

She added:

We will have dissect the 500 pages that will be put to us very soon I hope ... But based on what we have seen so far I don’t think we are going to be presented with a good deal.

Ireland’s cabinet will meet this morning at 9:30am to discuss Britain’s draft agreement on Brexit, a spokesman for Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said.

“The Irish government want to allow the British government to have time and space to consider the draft agreements,” the spokesman said.

“The Irish government won’t be commenting any further until the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) and Tanaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) have had an opportunity to brief their colleagues and the Dail (parliament).”

A key question to be answered, indeed it is one of Andrew Sparrow’s six key questions, is what the text of the withdrawal agreement will say about the Irish backstop.

Much has been made of the “swimming pool” model, which is how ITV’s Robert Peston described his understanding of how the EU backstop will work.

In short, Peston describes this model as: “GB in shallow end, Northern Ireland in deep end. Theresa May will get it through her cabinet. I am pretty sure DUP and Tory Brexiters will hate it.” (And he’s not wrong there, given reactions from Arlene Foster, Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees Mogg yesterday.)

For a longer explanation, you can read his full Facebook post below.

Naomi Long, a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and Alliance Party leader, has tweeted this take on the “swimming pool” model.

While most of the focus today will be on that 2pm cabinet meeting. Here’s what else is on the agenda for today.

11:30: Cabinet Office questions

12:00: Prime Minister’s Questions

1pm: A Humble Address relating to the Prince of Wales’s 70th birthday in the House of Commons (the House of Lords will do theirs at 3pm)

4pm: Westminster Hall event on future cost of Hinkley Point

Here is the Politico Europe round-up of this morning’s political news and here is the PoliticsHome’s list of today’s top reads.

If you have questions, so does Andrew Sparrow, who has written this guide to six key questions about May’s deal that must be – but may not be – answered soon.

“Finally, after months of procrastination, the government and parliament are reaching the point where choices about Brexit that ministers and MPs have been avoiding since the summer of 2016 can no longer be put off,” he writes.

They include:

• Can Theresa May win the backing of her entire cabinet?
• What will the text of the withdrawal agreement say about the Irish backstop?
• Can May persuade Labour to vote for the deal?

And looking abroad, Brexit is also front-page news in Ireland, Germany and France.

The Irish Times’s website looks ahead to Thursday, with the headline: “May to chair crunch cabinet meeting to discuss draft UK departure deal.” Also prominent is their chat with former Brexit minister Steve Baker, who is marshalling the rejection of May’s deal. The News Letter in Belfast leads online with DUP leader Arlene Foster saying both sides of the Commons will vote with her party to reject any deal that weakens the UK. The Belfast Telegraph gets plenty in its main web headline: “Brexit breakthrough: UK handcuffed to EU with Brussels holding the keys and NI dependent on Dublin, says DUP’s Arlene Foster”.

Across the Channel the news also made the front of German papers. Süddeutsche Zeitung splashes on “London reports agreement for Brexit draft”, while Die Zeit’s website headlines their story on the ominous: “Things are far from under control”.

Der Spiegel proclaims “The final has begun”, while Die Welt sizes up May’s chances and concludes: “Opposition against May’s fragile Brexit deal is huge”.

In France, where most of the front pages are preoccupied with Donald Trump’s attacks on Emmanuel Macron, Les Echos said: “May puts everything on her divorce project”.

Read our full wrap of how the papers covered Brexit.

EU ambassadors are meeting in Brussels today. They were meant to be discussing the European commission’s no-deal preparations, but the agenda was amended after news emerged of the tentative deal. The agenda for that meeting is here:

Unsurprisingly, the front pages of the papers today are dominated by May’s Brexit deal.

The Guardian’s splash is “Brexit: May tells her cabinet, this is the deal – now back me”. The Daily Mail calls it “Judgment Day”. The Daily Telegraph says “May faces ‘moment of truth’ on Brexit deal”. The FT has a similar headline: “May faces moment of truth in cabinet clash over Brexit draft”.

The Times is unhappy, writing “May accused of betrayal as she unveils Brexit deal” and the i writes “Deal done”, though then acknowledges how far the deal has to go before Brexit has happened.

The Daily Express, however, is loving the deal: “This Brexit deal is best for Britain”, runs their headline.

Good morning and welcome to Politics Live on what could be a fairly momentous day. I’ll be keeping the blog warm for a bit before Andrew Sparrow takes over, thanks for following along.

Here’s where we are:

An emergency cabinet meeting will be held this afternoon at 2pm, which sources have said is expected to last three hours. Cabinet ministers will debate the draft of an agreement to withdraw from the EU that has finally been reached after torturous negotiations, more than two years after the UK voted to leave the European Union.

Yesterday, May called in her ministers to Number 10, one by one, for briefings on the agreement, in what is being seen as a divide-and-conquer strategy and ministers were supposed to study the draft text, particularly the provisions around the Irish border, overnight.

Getting this past cabinet is the first hurdle for May. If May secures the support of her colleagues during this meeting, she will then launch a campaign to sell the deal to the country, beginning with a live televised media conference.

Given that May sometimes struggles as a performer, some have suggested a live conference is not necessarily the best way to sell the agreement to a disillusioned populace.

If the cabinet approves the plan, the EU expects to hold a special Brexit summit on 25 November. May then takes the deal to parliament, most likely in mid-December.

If they don’t approve it, the UK careers closer to a “no-deal” Brexit, potentially leaving the EU without any agreement reached on important issues such as trade, the status of EU citizens in the UK or UK citizens in the EU.