Brexit news – live: Historic EU trade deal agreed as Boris Johnson to give press conference imminently

Boris Johnson will give a press conference at around 3pm to confirm that UK and EU negotiators have finally agreed a Brexit trade and security deal, just eight days before Britain leaves the bloc’s single market and customs union on 31 December.

Stay tuned, and check out Andrew Woodcock and Jon Stone’s report below in the meantime:

The Telegraph’s political editor Gordon Rayner reports an announcement is imminent:

RTE’s Europe editor Tony Connelly reports the level playing field is a “complicated structure” amid suggestions it is one of the hurdles that has now been conquered by EU and British negotiators:

Reports suggest ambassadors from the EU member states will not be asked to look at a Brexit deal today.

Sebastian Fischer, a spokesman for the German presidency of the Council of the EU, said no meeting would be called due to the “ongoing” negotiations.

“At the same time we have asked EU ambassadors to be available during Christmas period,” he said.

The 27 EU states will be required to agree to any deal that is thrashed out by Brussels’ officials and the UK.

It comes after a No 10 source reportedly suggested earlier that it was a “done deal” – though others were not so optimistic, as disagreements over fishing rights are said to remain. 

The Tory party’s European Research Group (ERG) of hardline Brexiteers are eagerly awaiting the chance to go through the trade agreement – thought to be over 2,000 pages – over Christmas. They will get a little help researching all that detail from a “star chamber” of legal advisers.

The Mail reported this morning that around 20 of the most fervent eurosceptics in the group, led by Mark Francois, could vote against a deal after Christmas. But around half a dozen ERG MPs have told Politico they were minded to back the deal.

Nigel Farage has signalled that he will accept the Brexit trade struck by Boris Johnson – declaring “the Brexit wars are over”.

The Brexit Party leader’s comments will come as a relief to No 10, significantly reducing the prospect of his agreement with Brussels being branded a betrayal by Brexiteers.

“Boris will be seen as the man that finished the job. Perhaps not perfectly but, yes, he’s done what he said he’d do on the big picture,” Farage said on TalkRadio.

Though he also tweeted that Downing Street officials “want a Christmas Eve announcement to hide the fisheries sell-out”.

So what’s the hold up? The two sides are thought to be haggling over just how much fish, such as sole, sand eels and herring, EU boats should be able to catch in British waters. Officials are still working on spreadsheets about individual fish quotas in Brussels, according to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg.

Reports suggest that the overall value of fishing stock caught be EU fishermen in British waters will be cut by 25 per cent – a figure Brussels was keen on for the past couple of weeks. It’s very far from 80 per cent reduction demanded by London recently.

Yet Downing Street appears to have got its own way on whether the EU can retaliate if the UK decides to change its fishing quotas in the future. Brussels had wanted “cross-retaliation” tariffs, but that won’t be part of the deal, according to Politico.

One French official told Reuters: “The British have made huge concessions the negotiations in the past 48 hours.” No 10 will be keen to sell the deal very differently, of course.

Our policy correspondent Jon Stone reports the following: 

It seems fish is absent from the menu this time – perhaps it will be served once the talks wrap up…

The Great British Pound (GBP) has risen by more than 3 per cent against the dollar since the start of the week, when a no-deal Brexit looked most likely.

David Madden, a market analyst at CMC Markets UK, pointed out that some investors have avoided the pound, suggesting it could still be undervalued.

He said: “The pound has seen a lot of volatility in recent weeks and months as the uncertainty of the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU has impacted the currency.

“Some traders have been avoiding sterling due to the lack of clarity with respect to the EU situation.

“This morning there has been a lot of talk that a deal will be announced and that has lifted the pound. Sterling is up 0.7 per cent versus the US dollar and at one point in the session it came within a whisker of printing a new 31-month high against the US dollar.”

Exports of meat, fish and dairy products to the European Union will be able to continue beyond 1 January after the United Kingdom was granted “national listed status”.

The measure means live animals and products of animal origin can be supplied to the EU after Brussels confirmed the UK met health and biosecurity standards.

The EU has also agreed to the exports of many plants and plant products can continue being exported to the bloc and Northern Ireland. But seed potatoes – an important Scottish export – will be banned, leading Scotland’s Nicola Sturgeon to condemn the “disastrous” outcome.

Businesses in the £5bn animal export market will face some red tape in order to continue exporting, including the need for a health certificate. While potatoes destined for European dinner plates can continue to be exported, those used as seed crops cannot be.

Businesses in the £5bn animal export market will face some red tape in order to continue exporting, including the need for a health certificate.While potatoes destined for European dinner plates can continue to be exported, those used as seed crops cannot be.