MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK ministers want a Brexit deal by end of November and plan campaign to sell the deal to MPs and public

The UK is due to leave the EU on 29 March but the two sides have not yet agreed on the terms of its departure, with the Irish border proving the main sticking point.

Senior British ministers have agreed they want to reach a Brexit deal with the EU by the end of November, sources say. “Everyone saw the difficulties of leaving it longer,” a senior cabinet source told the BBC. Meanwhile, the BBC has seen a detailed suggested timetable of how the government could try to sell a deal to MPs and the public.

It includes speeches from Theresa May and support from business figures and foreign leaders. The notes, which the government has dismissed, suggest the cabinet had hoped to review a Brexit withdrawal deal when it met earlier.

Sources say a final deal was not presented to the cabinet but that ministers agreed they want a deal to be done this month and they could meet again later this week.

The UK is due to leave the EU on 29 March but the two sides have not yet agreed on the terms of its departure, with the Irish border proving the main sticking point.

If a deal can be reached with the EU in time, Mrs. May will then need to persuade her party - and the rest of Parliament - to support it in a key Commons vote.

The notes seen by the BBC outline how ministers could present the deal, saying: “The narrative is going to be measured success, that this is good for everyone but won't be all champagne corks popping.”

They refer to a speech by Mrs May to the CBI, saying: “We have delivered on the referendum.” And they go on to talk about the government “lining up 25 top business voices...and lots of world leaders eg Japanese PM to tweet support for the deal”.

It suggests the government would hope to declare they had made decisive progress and to get the deal through Parliament in less than three weeks.

But a government spokesman said: “The misspelling and childish language in this document should be enough to make clear it doesn't represent the government's thinking.

”You would expect the government to have plans for all situations - to be clear, this isn't one of them.“ The spokesman did not deny there were advanced plans for building support for a deal if and when it is concluded.

Labour MP Hilary Benn, who chairs the Commons Brexit select committee, said Mrs May should concentrate on securing a deal rather than on how to sell an agreement that was not yet done. ”When you get a deal, you can think about how you are going to tell people about it,” he told the BBC.