Boris Johnson and EU reach Brexit deal without DUP backing

Boris Johnson and Jean-Claude Juncker have jointly announced agreement on a new Brexit deal despite the refusal of the Democratic Unionist party to give its backing.

After weeks of negotiations that went deep into the early hours of Thursday morning and with mounting pressure to have a legal text ready for EU leaders to read before a summit, the two leaders said an agreement was ready.

The prime minister tweeted: “We’ve got a great new deal that takes back control – now parliament should get Brexit done on Saturday so we can move on to other priorities like the cost of living, the NHS, violent crime and our environment.”

Leaders are now expected to give their political approval to the revised withdrawal agreement and political declaration on Thursday afternoon.

In a letter to the president of the European council, Donald Tusk, Juncker said it was time for the British House of Commons to do its part to bring the first phase of the negotiations to an end.

He wrote: “I believe it is high time to complete the withdrawal process and move on, as swiftly as possible, to the negotiation on the European Union’s future partnership with the United Kingdom.”

With the DUP refusing to give its backing, there remains little hope that the deal will pass through the British parliament unless Johnson is able to convince both a significant number of Labour MPs and a chunk of the 21 MPs whose whip as Conservatives was removed last month.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn criticised the deal, saying: “From what we know, it seems the prime minister has negotiated an even worse deal than Theresa May’s, which was overwhelmingly rejected.

“These proposals risk triggering a race to the bottom on rights and protections: putting food safety at risk, cutting environmental standards and workers’ rights, and opening up our NHS to a takeover by US private corporations.

“This sell-out deal won’t bring the country together and should be rejected. The best way to get Brexit sorted is to give the people the final say in a public vote.”