Michel Barnier says deal with UK possible 'in coming weeks' as deadline for agreement slips amid deadlocked talks

Michel Barnier has said he hopes a Brexit deal will be possible "in the coming weeks" as the European Union largely abandoned the hope of finalising the terms of the UK's exit this month.

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator said "we are not there yet" as he commented on the eve of a summit with the leaders of EU countries on Wednesday.

The October summit was previously touted as the moment a withdrawal deal would be settled upon.

But Mr Barnier on Tuesday suggested that an agreement would need more time.

"We are not there yet," he said. "We will use that time - calmly, with serious intent - to find the overall deal."

It comes as EU council president Donald Tusk told Prime Minister Theresa May to think like a free spirit and "present something creative enough to solve this impasse" on the Irish border issue that has stumped negotiators for more than a year.

As prospects for a compromise stood ahead of the meeting, Mr Tusk said there were "no grounds for optimism" about Britain and the EU reaching a deal.

Mr Barnier said many terms of the divorce have been agreed upon already, such as how much money Britain owes the EU.

But aspects of the withdrawing member's future relationship with the EU are unresolved, Barnier said, most notably the border that will separate EU member Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.

Mr Barnier said: "We have done a lot of work in the past weeks and the last few days with the British authorities to achieve a global agreement on the objective of an orderly withdrawal of the UK.

"This withdrawal must be orderly for everyone and in all subjects - including Ireland.

"We must find a solution to ensure that there is no hard border in any circumstance on the island of Ireland.

"We are not there yet. Several subjects remain open, including Ireland. We need more time to find this global agreement and achieve the decisive progress we need to finalise this negotiation on the orderly withdrawal.

"We will take this time, calmly and seriously, to find this global agreement in the next weeks."

Since the Brexit discussions began over 18 months ago, the October summit was earmarked as the most likely date for an agreement given the need for parliamentary approvals before Britain officially departs in March.

The EU said it was pressing forward with contingency plans to protect the 27 remaining member states if Britain crashes out of the bloc with neither a deal in place nor a transition period established. Mr Tusk warned that chances of Britain leaving without a deal were higher than ever before.

In London, Mrs May urged her divided Cabinet to back her amid growing talk that several members were ready to resign in protest of her government's proposals to the EU.

Mrs May briefed her Cabinet earlier today on efforts to unblock talks with Brussels, currently at a stalemate over the Irish border.

She said the government must "stand together and stand firm."

She is still set to travel to Brussels for the symbolic meeting, and to discuss the latest updates on negotiations.

The PM’s spokesman told reporters after the meeting that Mrs May "said we have made progress on a huge number of issues in the negotiations but there remain sticking points in two key areas".

He said: "The PM said it is not possible for her or any UK prime minister to sign up to an agreement that would lead to a customs border down the Irish Sea. She said we also need to ensure that we do not have a situation where the UK can be kept indefinitely in the backstop against our will.

"The cabinet strongly supported the prime minister over the importance of maintaining the integrity of the union. The cabinet also agreed that we must be able to ensure that we cannot be kept in the backstop arrangement indefinitely.

"The PM said there will no doubt be challenging moments ahead. That is in the nature of negotiations. She said she is committed to securing a Brexit that delivers on the referendum result, safeguards jobs and security and which preserves our union."