Here you go, then:
Ministers have been told to start implementing plans for a no-deal Brexit within weeks as last-ditch talks in Brussels between Britain and the EU broke up after little more than an hour.
Dominic Raab, the Brexit secretary, travelled to Brussels yesterday for an unscheduled meeting with his EU counterpart, Michel Barnier, amid speculation that officials on both sides had reached agreement over the so-called Irish backstop. But Theresa May’s hopes of sealing a deal at the summit in Brussels that starts on Wednesday were left on a knife-edge when both sides declared that there had been no consensus.
The Times has learnt that senior civil servants have warned ministers that whatever happens this week, the government’s contingency plans for Britain crashing out of the EU without a deal agreed must start being put into effect by the end of the month.
Rather than wait for the conclusion of talks in Brussels, or the ratification of any deal by MPs, the work of stockpiling medicines and telling businesses to begin registering for new customs processes must begin shortly, ministers have concluded.
Those involved in the discussions said that if the government delayed taking action to prepare for a no-deal Brexit beyond this month, it faced being under-prepared by March 29 next year, when Britain officially leaves the EU.
The warning came as:
• David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, called for ministers to revolt against the prime minister’s “completely unacceptable” Chequers deal, prompting calls for him to replace Mrs May as an interim leader.
• In a sign of Mrs May’s fragile hold on Downing Street, at least three cabinet ministers were on the brink of quitting this week in protest at her plans for a backstop — the arrangements that would apply to Northern Ireland to avoid a hard border with the Republic of Ireland in the absence of a post-Brexit deal.
• Arlene Foster, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, with whom Mrs May’s government has a confidence-and-supply agreement to give the Tories an overall majority, said that she was “ready” to trigger a no-deal Brexit.
• The former foreign secretary Boris Johnson said that if the backstop was not ditched it “would be the greatest national humiliation since Suez”.
• The Labour MP Caroline Flint angered colleagues by warning that she would back a “reasonable” Brexit deal secured by Mrs May rather than vote it down with Mr Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg “who want us to crash out without a deal”.
Ministers have been told that although their departments should try to ensure that “irrevocable” contingency plans for how different industries and sectors should plan for a no-deal outcome were not put into effect until after the Commons has voted on any deal with the EU, some will have to begin sooner. It emerged last week that the government had already begun work to turn the M26 into a lorry park.
Mr Raab travelled to Brussels yesterday to try to find a solution on the backstop. Olly Robbins, Mrs May’s leading official, and his EU counterparts had the outlines of a “technical” agreement yesterday afternoon, The Times understands. But the prime minister and Mr Raab face a difficult task persuading several members of the cabinet and many Conservative backbenchers that the backstop does not lock Britain into an indefinite customs union with the EU.
Officials moved to dampen speculation yesterday that the break-up in negotiations was in fact choreographed before a deal is agreed this week. “There’s trouble,” one UK source said. “This was not the plan.” A senior EU diplomat added: “This is not good and the backstop remains the problem.”
One source suggested that on arriving in Brussels Mr Raab had adopted a more hardline approach than Mr Robbins. In some parts of government there is still hope that momentum can be achieved before Wednesday.
Mr Raab’s unscheduled visit had fuelled speculation that a deal was close. An EU memo obtained by the Süddeutsche Zeitung in Germany had predicted that yesterday would be the day when “a deal is done, and nothing is made public”, before its announcement in London today.
The talks still foundered over the question of the backstop, and a planned meeting of each of the member states today was cancelled. Mr Barnier said: “Despite intense efforts, some key issues are still open, including the backstop to avoid a hard border.” A Downing Street spokesman said: “In the last few days UK and EU negotiators have made real progress in a number of key areas. However, there remain a number of unresolved issues relating to the backstop.”
Under the plans for a backstop, the EU would allow the UK to continue being part of a customs union beyond the end of the transition period if no new free-trade agreement had been signed. But Brexiteers, including Mr Raab, are adamant there must be a firm time limit on any such arrangement to avoid Britain being in a customs union with the EU for ever, without the ability to strike free-trade deals.
Yesterday officials suggested inserting a series of conditions that, if met, could mean the backstop would expire. But Brexiteers scoffed at the idea. “No date means no date,” one source said.
The ministers most opposed to the backstop plans are Andrea Leadsom, the Commons leader, Esther McVey, the work and pensions secretary, and Penny Mordaunt, the international development secretary. They will meet in Mrs Leadsom’s Commons office tonight, but are expected to wait until the cabinet meeting on Tuesday before deciding whether to quit.