DUP Offers To Work With Theresa May To Change The Brexit Deal

The ex-cabinet minister, who did not want to be named, told HuffPost UK: “People have consumed their mince pies and looked lugubriously over the fence at 2019 and seen little to change their views over Christmas.”

But a senior backbencher with good knowledge of colleagues’ views said a legally-binding “codicil”, or addendum, to the deal could get the DUP onside and subsequently unlock the support of “a number of Conservatives” and potentially Labour MPs in Leave seats.

That would give the deal a “reasonable” chance of passing, they said.

Earlier, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt confirmed the government was continuing to try to change details of the backstop within the withdrawal agreement, in a clear sign it is committed to getting DUP support for the deal.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Theresa May has been very clear this isn’t just about words but about text which has legal force.

“She has also been very straightforward about this – the EU has agreed the backstop is temporary and that’s a word they have agreed.

“So what we’re saying, very simply, is we’re not asking for anything new but we are asking you to define what temporary means so we can have confidence we’re not going to be trapped in the customs union for ever against the wishes of the British people.”