BARCLAY AND BARNIER TO HOLD CRUCIAL BRUSSELS TALKS
Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay is holding key talks with the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier
It's as the chance of a breakthrough on securing a withdrawal deal appeared to rise.
The Brussels meeting comes in the wake of discussions between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar after which both leaders declared they could "see a pathway" to a possible agreement.
Mr Barclay's talks look likely to give the clearest indication of whether there has been a significant thawing of relations between London and the EU after a week of abrupt exchanges.
Such a move could lead to the start of so-called intensive "tunnel" negotiations in the coming days ahead of the crunch EU heads of government summit on October 17 and 18.
The unexpectedly cordial atmosphere of the meeting between the two prime ministers led to speculation of a possible compromise on the contentious issue of the Northern Ireland border backstop.
Sterling rose sharply on international money markets in the wake of the talks.
After more than two hours of "detailed and constructive" discussions at a country manor on the Wirral on Thursday, the two leaders said it was in "everybody's interest" to get an agreement which would allow the UK to leave with a deal.
Mr Varadkar said he hoped the progress they had made would be "sufficient" to enable intensive negotiations to resume in Brussels ahead of next week's crucial EU summit.
The Taoiseach said: "I think it is possible for us to come to an agreement, to have a treaty to allow the UK to leave the EU in an orderly fashion, and to have that done by the end of October, but there's many a slip between cup and lip," he said.
"In terms of how long it will take, I can't predict that with any certainty, but I think all sides would like there to be an agreement next week at the council if possible.
"Obviously there's a further deadline after that which is the 31st of October, so I would say a short pathway rather than a long one, but it's impossible to predict that for sure."
Mr Varadkar refused to be drawn on any "concessions" made by either side, while UK Government sources refused to be drawn on Irish press reports suggesting "significant movement" by the UK.
Published: by Radio NewsHub