
Ireland is stepping up preparations for physical infrastructure at ports and airports after Brexit, premier Leo Varadkar said. Irish ministers held detailed discussions in Dublin on Tuesday surrounding the hiring of customs officers and veterinary inspectors as well as the upgrading of IT systems.

Theresa May will try to rally ministers behind her this morning at the start of a critical 48 hours for Brexit. On Monday, the PM told MPs an agreement with the EU was “still achievable” despite differences over the Irish border if “cool heads” prevailed. EU officials, though, have warned no-deal is “more likely than ever before”.

UK government cabinet ministers raised concerns about potential compromises with the EU over Brexit at a No 10 meeting on Thursday. According to London media reports Liam Fox, Michael Gove and Dominic Raab expressed concern the whole of the UK could remain in the customs union for an open-ended period.

Unworkable”, “unacceptable”, “impasse”, are some of the words used to describe Brexit talks between Britain and the European Union do little to temper concerns that the two are heading for a chaotic divorce. But behind the scenes, both sides are preparing concessions as part of what one British official called “a constructive dialogue” that could yet lead to a deal.

The British government says it would back a joint bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup in the UK and Ireland. The football associations of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland are considering putting forward a proposal to stage the tournament.

Growth in life expectancy in the UK has come to a halt, new figures show. A girl born between 2015 and 2017 is expected to live until 82.9 years old – no change on the previous figure for 2014-16, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The figure for baby boys born in 2015-17 is also unchanged, at 79.2 years.

Theresa May’s government is more focused on its “internal negotiation” than talks on addressing the Irish border issue, Sinn Fein’s vice president has claimed. Michelle O’Neill said any return of physical infrastructure at the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland after Brexit would be a security threat and have “serious implications” for business.

The British Prime Minister, Theresa May, will visit Berlin and the Netherlands in the coming days to meet with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Dutch authorities before assembling her government to finally decide what commercial relationship her country wants with the European Union (EU) in the future, commented her spokesman on Monday.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has warned the UK there will be no Brexit deal without agreement on the Irish border. On a visit to Dublin, Mr Juncker said fellow EU member states would not let Ireland be “isolated” on the impasse, insisting the demand for a resolution was a Europe-wide demand.

UK prime minsiter Theresa May has appealed to Tory rebels not to undermine her negotiating position with the EU by backing amendments to Brexit legislation made by the Lords. Addressing a meeting of the backbench 1922 committee on Monday ahead of a series of crunch Commons votes, the Prime Minister told MPs to consider the signal that would be sent to Brussels if the Government was defeated.