Theresa May pleads for unity after marathon cabinet talks on Brexit

Theresa May has issued a dramatic unity plea to ministers, calling on them to "stand together" for the sake of a Brexit deal.

The prime minister said she was "convinced" that if the cabinet retains a "firm" unitary position that Britain would get a breakthrough in negotiations.

Her pitch came after a marathon cabinet meeting, kicking off a crucial 48 hours in Brexit talks.

The three-hour session saw discussions on the Northern Irish border backstop, where Downing Street said ministers voiced "shared concerns".

She repeated it would be "unacceptable" for Northern Ireland to remain in the EU's customs union, while Great Britain leaves it, to prevent a hard border.

And she said the insurance policy if talks collapse could not be "indefinite".

In a public statement afterwards, Mrs May announced: "I am convinced that if we as a government stand together and stand firm we can achieve this."

It comes as several cabinet ministers are on "resignation watch" - Brexiteers who have been careful to insist they are supporting the prime minister rather than her proposal.

They include Penny Mordaunt, spoken of as a future party leader; Esther McVey the welfare secretary; and Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the Commons.

Sky News also understands several ministers gathered in Ms Leadsom's office on Monday evening for "pizza club" to discuss resignations and support for the prime minister over takeaway.

The official cabinet meeting saw them served sausage, bacon and eggs, and not pizza, a Number 10 source said.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson told Sky News the sit-down was "very good", but declined to comment when asked if there were any resignations.

Mrs May will travel to Brussels on Wednesday for the penultimate summit of the year, where EU leaders are expected to say not enough progress has been made in negotiations to approve a deal.

The prime minister will pitch her latest proposal to them prior to dinner, before they retire to debate next steps.