Boris Johnson is poised to announce a Brexit deal this morning that will keep trade with the EU free of tariffs and quotas in what he will claim as a significant coup for the UK.
Confirmation of a deal was expected after 24 hours of intensive one-to-one telephone negotiations between Mr Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president.
The Telegraph understands that the remaining hurdles have almost entirely been cleared, with the sides haggling on Wednesday night over final details concerning fish and electric cars.
However, the race to claim victory had already begun, with one French official claiming Britain had made “huge concessions” in the past 48 hours, “mostly on fish”.
Follow the latest updates below.
06:32 AM
What the papers say
Brexit is dominating the front pages this morning – with the consensus being that a deal has indeed been done.
06:07 AM
So when will it happen?
Nothing is certain at this stage, but the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg believes Boris Johnson will speak to Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, at about 7am, followed by a press conference at 8am.
Morning – I hope you are asleep, especially as it’s Christmas Eve. If you are awake, expect PM a to talk to EU chief at about 7am UK time now with a press conference to follow at about 8
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) December 24, 2020
05:54 AM
What’s in the deal?
The devil is always in the detail – and James Crisp and Gordon Rayner have been looking at what concessions may have been made.
The Brexit trade deal was more than 95 per cent done for weeks before reports of “white smoke” from the negotiators in Brussels on Wednesday night.
Disagreements over the three major sticking points of fishing rights, level playing field guarantees and the deal’s enforcement proved far more difficult for the two sides to agree.
And with “nothing agreed until everything is agreed”, that meant the agreement wasn’t done at all.
The issues were vital for both sides. The EU wanted guarantees that UK companies would not undercut its standards in what it said would be unfair competition with its businesses.
Britain could not sign up to any deal that tied any future government’s ability to split from EU rules.
Read more: What has been agreed, and what happens next?
05:46 AM
Are we finally going to get a deal?
We are finally expecting a Brexit deal to be announced this morning and, while this has been said before, this time it might actually happen.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson led a late-night call with Cabinet ministers to update them on the situation.
European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer suggested an announcement could come early today.
“Work will continue throughout the night,” he said shortly after midnight.
“Grabbing some sleep is recommended to all Brexit-watchers at this point. It will hopefully be an early start tomorrow morning…”
The UK side expected talks over the legal text of the deal – reportedly around 2,000 pages long – to continue into the early hours.
Here is The Telegraph’s front page this morning.