Theresa May's Brexit deal could lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom, the Democratic Unionist Party has warned.

The party's chief whip Sir Jeffrey Donaldson warned the deal would in the "long term" leave Northern Ireland closely aligned with the EU and could increase support for Scottish independence, saying "this is not the right Brexit".

He told BBC Radio 4's Today the Unionist party "don't fear a general election", when asked whether it would risk Jeremy Corbyn, a long-term supporter of a united Ireland.

He said: "It's not about who is prime minister, it's not about who governs the country, it's about the constitutional and economic integrity of the UK, that is fundamental for us.

"And it is not just us, the DUP does not stand alone on this, we have many friends within the Conservative Party and indeed in some other parties, who believe this deal has the potential to lead to the break-up of the UK.

"That is not something we can support."

Remain-supporting Tory MP Anna Soubry told Today that "the best deal we have with the EU is the deal we currently have with the EU".

She said that a customs union had to go together with membership of the single market and its regulatory framework, saying "they have to be together".

She said: "If you speak... to British business they will tell you a customs union is important, but so is the regulatory alignment as well. That is what I need to see."

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage said he believed the draft Brexit plan is "the worst deal in history".

He told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "We're giving away in excess of £40 billion in return for precisely nothing. Trapped still inside the European Union's rule book, continuing free movement of people, continuing with a foreign court having a say over our own country. Nothing has been achieved other than giving away a huge sum of money."

He described Theresa May as "not just the worst prime minister I've ever seen but perhaps the most dishonest one as well".

He added: "Get rid of her. Let's get somebody else, let's come back to the EU and say 'look, let's have a simple free trade deal or we are leaving on WTO (World Trade Organisation) terms'. And do you know what? They'll bite our arms off."

Asked what he thinks will happen next, he said: "I believe that the Cabinet will collapse, I believe that Parliament will collapse. I think we have a career political class who will put their own reselection within their parties above the interests of the nation and our democratic system."

Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey said that Theresa May's deal was "unlikely to be a good deal for the country".

Ms Long-Bailey told Today: "Theresa May had a moral duty really, to deliver a Brexit that put quality of life of our communities right at its heart and based on the shambles we have seen I don't think this has been achieved and she has let many people around the country down today."

She was asked five times whether Brexit could be stopped, saying: "Of course it could, if it had the agreement of the European Union and the British people and the British Government.

"But that is a very, very hypothetical question looking into the future.

"Our position is to secure a good deal and if the Prime Minister cannot do that we want to see a general election so that Labour can take over negotiations."

Penny Mordaunt has arrived at 10 Downing Street to meet with Theresa May.

Andrea Leadsom, Leader of the House of Commons and Brexit supporter, said she was optimistic about a "good deal".

Doorstepped by Good Morning Britain on Wednesday, she said: "I've had a good conversation with the Prime Minster and I'm looking at the details of the deal today and I'm extremely optimistic that we'll have a good deal, but I'm looking at the details today."

Juergen Maier, UK chief executive of German engineering firm Siemens, called for a calm analysis of the deal on offer.

He told Today: "My gut feeling is that we need to get behind it and we need to make this deal work because what we need is certainty.

"It has been two very difficult years for manufacturers like ours here in the UK. We are investing hundreds of millions of pounds in British manufacturing and what we need is certainty that we can continue to invest and trade properly here.

"It looks like to me that this is the only deal in town, so I think it's better to get behind it - maybe fine tune it a little bit - and make it work. That will be good for British manufacturing."

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt has left 10 Downing Street after a meeting with the Prime Minister.

Arlene Foster, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, told Sky News: "It is worrying times, there's no doubt about that.

"What we'll be looking at is the text, hopefully we'll actually get to see the text so that we can make our own judgment on that.

"The Prime Minister is very clear about where we stand on all of this. As you know we've written to her, she's very clear that we cannot be separated from the rest of the UK, either in terms of customs or indeed in terms of regulatory alignment either."

Mrs Foster went on: "Regulatory alignment would mean that we would diverge from the rest of the UK, we would stay in the single market, whereas the rest of the United Kingdom would not.

"We would have a democratic deficit insofar as we would be taking rules from the European Union and would have no way in influencing those rules.

"It's a question of whether we're separating the union - whether we are dealing with the United Kingdom in a way that leaves us adrift in the future.

"As the leader of unionism in Northern Ireland I'm not about to agree to that."

Former Tory leader Lord Hague warned Brexiteers that if they did not accept Theresa May's deal they might not get Brexit at all, because it may bring down the Government and push support for a second referendum.

He told Today: "If you are those sceptics, the ardent Brexiteers, what you have to really worry about here is that if you don't take this opportunity to leave the EU, to get Brexit over the line, you might never leave at all.

"There is that point of view represented by (former transport minister) Jo Johnson who resigned the other day ... that the better alternative is to have a second referendum and that would mean of course deferring leaving next year.

"It would probably mean a different government, incidentally, and it would mean taking the next year over having another referendum that might not resolve matters but Brexit might never happen at all."

Former Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith has arrived at 10 Downing Street.

Lord Hague added that a second referendum would be "the most divisive and bitter political conflict in this country in 100 years, and very economically damaging".

And he levelled a warning directly at the DUP that failing to back a deal in a Parliamentary vote because they did not like "the details" could backfire on them.

He told Today: "In the scenario you paint where the DUP refused to vote for it, where there isn't a majority in Parliament, it could go either way. You either get a no-deal Brexit or you get no Brexit at all.

"Those are not attractive alternatives to the combination of benefits ... from supporting what the PM has achieved on this.

"For the DUP, for Jeffrey Donaldson and the DUP, they advocated leaving the EU, they also have to face up to the fact that if they vote down a deal because they are not happy with the details, well, the consequences may be that Brexit never happens."

Minister for the Cabinet Office David Lidington has arrived at 10 Downing Street.

The temporary customs union is not "part of a cunning plan of the devious Europeans to keep the UK in a customs union forever", according to Sophie in 't Veld, a Dutch MP who is the deputy to the European Parliament's chief negotiator Guy Verhofstadt.

She told Today that "we don't do (these) kind of conspiracies", and added: "None of us, neither you or I, have actually read the document, but from what we hear this is going to be part of the backstop solution and a new relationship will have to be negotiated between the UK and the EU.

"It all depends on how the negotiations proceed.

"The real problem doesn't lie there. The real problem lies within the UK, within the Government, within the Tory party, between the parties, because there has not been any agreement over the relationship with the EU between any of them over the last two years.

"That is the real problem, because if the UK had a single agreed line, backed by the majority of parties and the majority of MPs, then the whole situation would not be so unclear."

Mark Francois, deputy chairman of the Brexiteer European Research Group, warned Cabinet ministers that today they would be making "the most important decision they ever make in their whole lives".

He told Today he thought there was a chance of some resigning, but would not be drawn on how many, saying Theresa May's deal "is not Brexit, that is not what 17.4 million people in this country voted for".

The Rayleigh and Wickford MP said: "People around the Cabinet table, in their heart of hearts, know that.

"We and the rest of the country will be watching very carefully to see what happens at Cabinet today, but there are a number of Cabinet ministers who deep down very much oppose this.

"They will have to look into their hearts and decide whether a Jaguar and a red box and a bunch of sycophantic civil servants calling you 'Minister' is more important that the destiny of your country."

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss, has arrived at Downing Street.

Ireland's Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and his deputy Simon Coveney have arrived at the Irish government buildings for a special cabinet meeting on the proposed Brexit deal.

Chris Grayling, Secretary of State for Transport, remained tight-lipped as he left 10 Downing Street.

Jeremy Wright, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, has arrived at Downing Street.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt did not speak to reporters as he left 10 Downing Street.

Conservative Chief Whip Julian Smith has left 10 Downing Street ahead of this afternoon's Cabinet meeting on the Brexit deal.

Caroline Nokes, Minister of State for Immigration, has arrived at the Cabinet Office.

Former attorney general Dominic Grieve said Sabine Weyand's comments showed why there should be a second referendum.

Mr Grieve, a leading supporter of the People's Vote campaign, said she had been "brutally honest" about what the Prime Minister's deal will mean.

The pro-Remain MP said: "Ms Weyand states 'the EU will retain all the controls' - a bitter blow for anyone who voted for Brexit to 'take back control'.

"I could not look my constituents in the eye and say this would be a better deal than the one we have as a member of the EU and so I will vote against it and instead I will vote to hand the final decision back to the public.

"A choice between this miserable Brexit and no deal is no choice at all. The British public deserve a real choice between leaving the EU on these terms or sticking with the deal we've got inside the EU."

James Brokenshire, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has arrived at the Cabinet Office.

Dominic Raab, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, did not answer questions from reporters as he arrived at the Cabinet Office.

Theresa May has left Number 10 for Prime Minister's Questions ahead of this afternoon's key Brexit Cabinet meeting.

She left via the Foreign Office, as protesters were heard shouting "no more Brexit lies" at the bottom of Downing Street.

Damian Hinds, Secretary of State for Education, has arrived at the Cabinet Office.

European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told reporters in Brussels: "The European Union and United Kingdom negotiators have been working intensively over the past few days to agree on the elements of a withdrawal agreement and an outline of a political declaration on the framework of the future relationship."

He added: "There is an ongoing process in London and Brussels right now as we speak."

While the Cabinet meets in Downing Street, the European Commission will debrief the 27 remaining EU member states this afternoon.

Mr Schinas said he would not comment on press speculation about the contents of the deal but added: "If something happens you will be the first ones to know, so stay tuned."

Irish opposition leader Micheal Martin said relations between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are at their lowest in 20 years due to Brexit.

"No one can doubt that relations between the Government in Dublin and political unionism are at their lowest point in at least 20 years. There has been a return to rhetorical sniping which has had much more impact than various welcome but largely marginal cultural gestures," he said.

Mr Martin blamed both the Conservative Government at Westminster and Fine Gael for changing "the overall dynamic".

"Where the Major, Blair and Brown governments had shown a deep commitment to Northern Ireland's long-term progress, there was an apparent impatience in the Cameron government that they still had to spend time on the issue," he said.

"In fact David Cameron's approach was that Northern Ireland had to 'stand on its own two feet' rather than expect London to help overcome every problem.

"The change of government in Dublin also marked a new approach. Set-piece meetings continued but there was a clear disengagement and an expectation that it was time to just let the DUP and Sinn Fein get on with business."

Speaking at an Irish Association conference at Queen's University Belfast, the Fianna Fail leader said in terms of the reported Brexit deal: "Let's wait and see the exact text and the legal opinions before we can make an assessment of what is likely to happen. But it remains the bottom line is that Brexit is happening and it has no upside for Ireland."

Tory former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine told the Press Association: "I think the Prime Minister is facing defeat in the Commons.

"I think she will not get it through the House of Commons.

"And there will be a vote of confidence which I think she will win."

He added: "The deal is hopeless from our point of view.

"It's the biggest sacrifice of British self interest in my lifetime.

"There is no way abandoning our leading role in Europe can be anything other than a political and economic disaster for this country."

Asked about what would happen next, Lord Heseltine said: "I think that the most likely development in what will be a messy period is the second referendum."

There was a heavy police presence on Whitehall as anti-Brexit protesters were heard shouting near Downing Street.

Brexit-backing Tory MP Andrew Bridgen told the Press Association: "It shouldn't go through Cabinet.

"This is going to unravel pretty quickly. Public opinion is going to turn against it.

"We are going to be stuck in a backstop we can't get out of with the European Court of Justice deciding whether we can actually leave the European Union at any time in the future.

"This isn't Brexit, it's not even close to Brexit.

"If it were darts, it's not missing the board, this is not even the right wall."

Housing Secretary James Brokenshire took questions from reporters as he left the Cabinet Office.

He said: "I think we should get behind the Prime Minister on delivering that Brexit to take back control of our borders, our monies and our laws.

"I think we should be positive about that and that's what the Cabinet will discuss at 2'o clock this afternoon to discuss the next step.

"I think clearly Cabinet will be looking at this in detail this afternoon and everyone has had that chance to read the documents, to look at this in detail and I look forward to a positive and construction discussion this afternoon and how we take our country forward and actually secure that positive Brexit that we all want to get on with."

Asked if this was "taking back control", Mr Brokenshire said: "We'll have that discussion later on today in terms of the next steps around the documents we've been reading today but I think we should be positive about what we can do.

"There's been clearly good progress that has been secured over the last number of weeks and obviously we'll now consider the next steps and taking that forward."

Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, smiled at reporters as he left the Cabinet Office.

Asked if Mrs May could survive a defeat on the deal in the Commons, pro-Brexit Tory MP Crispin Blunt told the Press Association: "In these extraordinary circumstances, yes."

He added: "By any standards this isn't a very good deal, and by my judgment, no deal is a great deal better than this."

At Prime Minister's Questions, Theresa May said: "The Cabinet will meet this afternoon to consider the draft agreement the negotiating teams have reached in Brussels. The Cabinet will decide on the next steps in the national interest.

"I am confident that this takes us significantly closer to delivering what the British people voted for in the referendum.

"We will take back control of our borders, our laws and our money, leave the Common Fisheries Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy while protecting jobs, security and the integrity of our United Kingdom."

She promised to come back to the Commons to update it on the outcome of the meeting.

Mrs May acknowledged concerns about the fallback position of the UK being closely tied to the EU's customs union becoming a permanent situation but insisted that if the arrangement was needed it would be temporary.

"I am aware of the concerns that there are, that we don't want to be in a position where the European Union would find it comfortable to keep the UK in the backstop permanently," she told MPs.

"That's why any backstop has to be temporary."

Jeremy Corbyn attacked the Prime Minister's draft deal, describing it as a "failure in its own terms".

The Labour leader, speaking during PMQs, said: "After two years of bungled negotiations, from what we know of the Government's deal it's a failure in its own terms.

"It doesn't deliver a Brexit for the whole country... it breaches the Prime Minister's own red lines, it doesn't deliver a strong economic deal that supports jobs and industry, and we know they haven't prepared seriously for no deal."

Mrs May said Mr Corbyn was "wrong" in his description and accused Labour of seeking to "frustrate" Brexit.

She told the Commons: "Time and time again he has stood up in this House and complained and said that the Government isn't making progress, that the Government isn't anywhere close to a deal.

"Now when we're making progress and close to a deal he's complaining about that.

"I think what that clearly shows is that he and the Labour Party have only one intention: that is to frustrate Brexit and betray the vote of the British people."

Fielding questions in the Dail, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said EU leaders may now convene an emergency summit before the end of November to consider the draft deal.

"Back in December when the joint report - the agreement between the EU and UK - was issued I said the next step was to turn that joint report that we agreed back in December into a legally binding and legally operable withdrawal agreement and we are close to that point today," he said.

"But it is still a draft agreement. It is yet to be agreed by the UK Government and they will discuss it this afternoon and it is yet to be agreed by the European Council and we may be in a position to have an emergency European Council meeting before the end of the month to do exactly that."

Mr Varadkar said he was confident the suggested deal would not negatively impact on the terms of the 1998 Good Friday peace accord - an agreement that had a strong emphasis on cros- border co-operation and linkages.

"My reading is the Good Friday Agreement is not negatively impacted by this," said the Taoiseach.

"In fact it is protected by the draft agreement."

Mr Corbyn, in his final question at PMQs, told Mrs May: "This Government has spent two years negotiating a bad deal that will leave the country in an indefinite halfway house without a real say, yet they think they can impose a false choice on Parliament between a half-baked deal and no deal when a sensible alternative plan could bring together Parliament and the country.

"Even Conservative MPs say the Prime Minister is offering a choice between the worst of all worlds and a catastrophic series of consequences.

"When will the Prime Minister recognise that neither of these options is acceptable?"

Mrs May hit out at Labour's economic plans before adding: "We will not rerun the referendum, we will not renege on the decision of the British people, we will leave the customs union, we will leave the Common Fisheries Policy, we will leave the Common Agricultural Policy and we will take back control of our money, laws and borders.

"We will deliver Brexit and the United Kingdom is leaving the European Union on March 29 2019."

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told TDs in Leinster House that he did not want to speak publicly on the detail of the draft agreement, stressing that the process was at a very sensitive stage.

"We do have a very important and very sensitive cabinet meeting that will happen in London starting at 2pm today and I don't want to say anything here today that might up-end that cabinet meeting or make things any more difficult than they are already for the Prime Minister," he said.

Tory Brexiteer Peter Bone later warned the Prime Minister that she would lose the support of many backbenchers if reports of her Brexit plan were accurate.

He said: "If the media reports about the EU agreement are in any way accurate you will not be delivering the Brexit people voted for and today you will lose the support of many Conservative MPs and millions of voters across the country."

Mrs May responded: "What we have been negotiating is a deal that does deliver on the vote of the British people, in the list that I set out earlier I left out one of the things that the British people are very keen to see from this deal which is an end to free movement and we will ensure that we are delivering on that.

"What we're doing is delivering a deal that delivers on that vote, in doing so protects jobs, protects the integrity of our United Kingdom and protects the security of people in this country."

When pressed, Mr Varadkar suggested that an EU Council meeting may take place on November 25.

He said: "Should the UK Cabinet be in the position this afternoon to say it's content with the text it is proposed that the commission taskforce would be in a position perhaps tonight to publish the text with the possibility or probability of an EU Council meeting around the 25th of November."

He added that the text would have to be ratified by Westminster and the European Parliament. While it is not necessary, Mr Varadkar said it was his view that the text should also be put to a vote in the Irish parliament.

Arlene Foster has arrived at the Institute of Economic Affairs in Westminster.

She declined to answer any questions as she entered the building.

The Taoiseach said the Government plans to brief all the opposition party leaders and their teams this evening if it is in a position to publish the text.

He said the Irish Government had arranged to have a briefing with Northern Ireland parties tomorrow morning.

Mr Varadkar reiterated that the backstop was not the Government's preferred solution.

"It is a fallback, it's an insurance policy," he said.

Speaking in the Dail, Sinn Fein's Pearse Doherty welcomed the fact that there "might be a suitable deal on the table".

He said the party was "hopeful" as they waited to see the text of the agreement.

"One of the core issues is the issue of the Irish backstop which in our view remains the bottom line in ensuring there is never a hard border on the island of Ireland, that the interests of citizens are upheld and that the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts is protected," Mr Doherty said.

"That protection remains absolutely vital and the British Government must be held to the commitment they made last December. Perhaps some sense will prevail in Downing Street this afternoon. I hope that is the case."

Mr Doherty added that he was not surprised by the DUP's reaction.

Conservative former chancellor Ken Clarke called for the publication of a white paper setting out the details of the draft deal.

He asked: "Will the Prime Minister give an assurance that if and when this deal is published, that a statement will be made to this House of Commons when it is produced?

"Because it is this Parliament which is going to have to decide now what to do next and we don't want Parliament only to be consulted after another 24 hours of rumours and criticism - we could re-establish parliamentary sovereignty and I wish the Prime Minister well in obtaining a majority for some course of action in future which is in the national interest."

Mrs May said she would return to the Commons to explain the outcome of the Cabinet meeting, adding: "There is then the issue of when a final deal is agreed with the European Union and ensuring, as we will, that proper analysis is available to members of this House before the meaningful vote takes place and that briefings are available to members of this House on the details of the proposals."

Discussing the backstop, Mr Varadkar said: "The backstop does have to be there. It does have to be legally operable, it can't have an expiry date and it can't be possible for any one side to withdraw from it unilaterally.

"But it is important to appreciate that it is our intention that the backstop should never be invoked and that if it is invoked it should only be temporary until such a time that a new agreement is in place to supersede all or part of it. But it must apply unless or until that is the case."

Mr Varadkar recognised that this was a "difficult time" for the unionist community in Northern Ireland.

"I know that for the unionist community in Northern Ireland at the moment that this a quite a difficult time, I know many of them may be feeling vulnerable, many of them may be feeling isolated and many of them may be quite worried about what may be agreed in the coming days," he said.

"I want to say to them that the Good Friday Agreement will be protected and that includes a recognition that we respect the territorial integrity of the United Kingdom and that we respect the principle of consent that there can be no change of the constitutional status of Northern Ireland unless a majority of people in Northern Ireland say so.

"We're very happy to have that written into any agreement giving them that legal guarantee."

Police were seen restraining a number of protesters at the gates to Downing Street.

The group, dressed in high visibility clothing, were gathered in Whitehall as the Prime Minister prepared for her pivotal Brexit Cabinet.

Some people, including the media, were restricted from entering and leaving Downing Street.

A spokesman for Wales' First Minister Carwyn Jones said: "We set the blueprint for the right deal in our White Paper, Securing Wales' Future.

"While the UK Government has made successive movements towards our position, it is essential the deal enables a future relationship with the EU27 to be reached which includes full and unfettered access to the single market and participation in a customs union.

"We need to see the details of the deal as soon as possible.

"All the nations of the UK need time to scrutinise what is being proposed as it will have a huge impact on our future.

"So much rests on what the Prime Minister does and can achieve over the next hours.

"She needs to stare down the Brexit extremists in her own party and take a course that is right for all of the UK."

Leave Means Leave protesters and other pro-Brexit groups have gathered opposite Downing Street.

Harry Todd, who helps run Leave Means Leave's national ground campaign, said: "Today's protest comes from yesterday's announcement that we're giving up.

"The deal that is on the table, according to everyone who would know about these sort of things, is completely and utterly unacceptable.

"We've been told it's a 500-page document and the Cabinet is only getting an hour to read it."

Asked about what should happen next, the 27-year-old, from London, said: "Parliament needs to vote this down and more than that, the Cabinet needs to tell her now.

"They need to step up and show the spine they haven't been showing for two years."

Theresa May has arrived back at Number 10 following Prime Minister's Questions.

She will chair a hotly anticipated Cabinet meeting at 2pm, when ministers will discuss a draft of the Brexit deal.

Justice Minister Rory Stewart warned that the "extreme options" of a second referendum or a hard Brexit would result in "something akin to a civil war".

He told BBC Radio 4's World At One: "This is a really good deal. Why do I think that? Because actually it isn't going to be damaging our economy, it continues to allow us single market access on industrial goods and it gives us control over immigration.

"And that's really important because we have to also heal this country."

Responding to questions about a second referendum he said: "If we try to move for one of the extreme options that either the hard Brexiteers are proposing or the kind of option that you seem to be suggesting, we would have something akin to a civil war for the next 20 years in this country.

"We need a pragmatic deal which addresses the concerns of people who voted for Brexit while protecting our economy and that's what we have got."

Cabinet ministers have started arriving at Downing Street for the Brexit meeting.

Chief Whip Julian Smith, International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt, Environment Secretary Michael Gove and James Brokenshire, Secretary for Housing, Communities and Local Government, have all walked into Number 10.

Party Chairman Brandon Lewis has also arrived.

The Health Secretary greeted reporters as he arrived for the afternoon's Brexit Cabinet.

Matt Hancock followed Home Secretary Sajid Javid, Leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom, and Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, into Number 10.

Asked if he thought the deal would pass the Commons, Tory party deputy chairman James Cleverly told the Press Association: "I hope so.

"The fact that the Prime Minister at PMQs today reasserted those key elements of what Brexit means to her, leaving the customs union, leaving the single market, taking control of money, laws, borders, immigration policy, that kind of stuff - that gives me a significant degree of confidence.

"Ultimately though, we have got to see what is in the actual document."

The Attorney General, Geoffrey Cox, was asked when he arrived in Downing Street whether the Cabinet were happy with his advice on the deal and replied: "We'll see."

A group of pro-EU protesters have gathered outside Downing Street chanting "People's Vote" to the Leave Means Leave group, with the two groups being kept separate by police.

Pro-EU protester Charlotte Morrow said: "I had no idea the country is this divided, I woke up the next day and thought, 'who are these people?'"

Ms Morrow, who has brought her two dogs with her, has attended previous People's Vote marches.

She said: "[The referendum] was a very, very tiny majority, in fact as my friend said, a point so small it would have been a margin of error if it was anything else.

"I think even on the X Factor they would go to deadlock."

Pro-Brexit Labour MP Kate Hoey said Leave-backing ministers should quit if they do not think it is the right deal.

She told the Press Association: "Those people who believe in Leave, if they've seen the deal and they don't think it's the right deal, then they should be resigning.

"But I don't know what they'll do."

Conservative MP for Newton Abbot Anne Marie Morris said: "If the leaked information on the proposed Brexit deal is accurate, I cannot support it.

"A Northern Ireland solution which divides the UK and a non-regression clause to ensure the UK cannot out-compete the EU are completely unacceptable. The PM is not delivering the Brexit people voted for."

Protesters from Leave Means Leave have gathered outside Downing Street, calling on the Government to "ditch the deal".

Trevor, and a female who did not want to be named, were in Whitehall carrying signs from the Nigel Farage-backed group.

They told the Press Association: "There's no difference between Chequers and the EU.

"But we are leaving the EU. It's what 17 million-odd voted for."

When asked why they supported Leave, they said: "There's no future for us in the EU. I've done a lot of business in the EU and we were stitched up."

Referring to the proposed deal, Lucinda Creighton, who was Ireland's Europe minister between 2011 and 2013, told the Press Association: "From an Irish point of view it's probably as good as it gets.

"The Irish view will be hoping that it will make its way through Cabinet today."

Asked if she thought it could get through the Commons, Ms Creighton said: "I think that's going to be very dodgy, very problematic.

"I think the expectation from Downing Street that Labour MPs would wave this through, I think, is a little naive. I think it will take a lot of ground work over the coming weeks."

Labour MPs have called for the sitting of the Commons to be suspended to allow the Prime Minister to make a statement on the draft deal on Wednesday evening.

Shadow Commons leader Valerie Vaz said there was "plenty of time" for Theresa May to "come back and make a statement" after the Cabinet meeting, as the business in the chamber was likely to finish early.

She said: "Given that the press conference will be at 9 o'clock tonight, the House could be suspended and then the statement could be made even up until 7 o'clock."

But Deputy Speaker Dame Rosie Winterton said she had "received no indication that the Prime Minister is coming to the House today".

"I understand that there is expected to be a statement from the Prime Minister tomorrow.

"As the Speaker said earlier, he would have stood ready to allow a statement if one was requested."

Labour MP Lisa Nandy, whose Wigan constituency voted overwhelmingly Leave in the referendum, said the Government had made no effort to reach out to the opposition MPs whose votes it may have to rely on to get its plan through the Commons.

"The difficulty with what's happening now is we've potentially got a few weeks before this comes before Parliament," Ms Nandy told the BBC's Politics Live.

"There has been no attempt at all from the Tory government to reach out to the Labour front bench, to the backbenches, to talk to the trade unions. She's briefing businesses this afternoon but not the trade unions.

"If she wants to get this deal through, she's the leader of a Government that couldn't even command a majority at the last election. She has to talk to the other side and she has to be willing to listen."

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood has criticised what he characterised as a "knee jerk" reaction to the draft deal from the DUP and Brexiteers.

"We are glad to see that there may well be a deal between the European Union and the British government but we are always very concerned at the knee jerk reactions we have seen from the DUP and others," he said.

"I think it's important that everybody reads this deal, takes the time to digest it."

Mr Eastwood, speaking a short distance from the border in his Foyle constituency, added: "It's very important that we protect people here from a hard border - that we have access to the customs union and single market.

"I think it would be much more sensible if Britain and Northern Ireland had access to the customs union and single market - it would be even better if we weren't having Brexit at all.

"But our job today is to bank the back stop, our ultimate insurance policy. It's not the best thing that could be done, but it's an insurance policy nonetheless."

Speaking in the House of Lords, Brexiteer and Tory former trade secretary Lord Lilley argued if Parliament rejected the withdrawal deal, taxpayers would save £40 billion.

The UK would also do business on World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms "which should not be frightening", he insisted.

He said: "I say that not just because I helped to negotiate the establishment of the WTO, but because our trade with countries with whom we trade on WTO terms has grown three times as rapidly as our trade with the single market since it was established."

However, Labour former home secretary Lord Reid of Cardowan, who supported Remain, said: "In the event of a logjam in Parliament, which seems at least possible, why will the Government not allow the people ... to have the final say on this issue?"

Brexit Minister Lord Callanan said: "We will not be holding a second referendum. We have already had a referendum. The people reached their view and we are implementing that view."

The Cabinet meeting is not expected to finish until at least 6pm - four hours after it started - and could stretch on until around 7pm.

Speaking in the central lobby of the Palace of Westminster, Arlene Foster said she expected to meet Theresa May later on Wednesday and hoped to be shown the text of the draft agreement in order to clarify its contents.

The DUP leader said there would be "consequences" for Mrs May if she put forward a deal which threatened to break up the United Kingdom, as her party had said in a letter to the PM on November 1.

"If she decides to go against that, if she decides to go against herself - because on many, many occasions she stood up in this very place and said she will not break up the United Kingdom, there will be no difference between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK - if she decides to go against all that, then there will be consequences," said Mrs Foster.

"Of course there will be consequences. We could not as Unionists support a deal that broke up the United Kingdom."

Policing Minister Nick Hurd told the Commons there would be no press statement on the draft deal on Wednesday evening.

He said: "What I am authorised to inform the House is there will be no press statement this evening.

"There was considerable concern in the House about that happening before the Prime Minister came to Parliament and I can also confirm to the House that the Cabinet meeting is still ongoing."

Downing Street has said Theresa May will make a statement in the street outside No 10 following the conclusion of the Cabinet meeting.

Following the conflicting statements over whether there would be a statement from the Prime Minister, Labour MP Gareth Thomas raised a point of order in the Commons seeking clarification.

He said: "I am seeing on social media that despite the minister saying there would be no statement about the Cabinet discussions on Brexit, that there is now due to be a statement by the Prime Minister to the press afterwards, I wonder if there is any way we can clarify the situation?"

As Mr Thomas raised the point, Policing Minister Mr Hurd was passed a mobile phone from a Tory backbencher.

Mr Hurd, responding, said: "What I said at the despatch box was what I was authorised to say, I've got no further update."

The conservative Bow Group think tank has called on Theresa May to stand down, saying she is unable to deliver on Brexit.

In a statement, it said: "David Cameron left office on the basis that the Brexit result needed a Brexiteer leader and a Brexit government to implement the referendum campaign promises.

"We instead got a Remain-supporting leader and a Cabinet staffed by 70% Remain supporters.

"Theresa May has demonstrated with her final deal that she has been unable to implement what the British people voted for in Brexit, it is therefore time for her to stand aside."

Theresa May said there had been a "long, detailed and impassioned debate" on the Brexit deal.

Speaking outside Number 10, the Prime Minister said: "I firmly believe that the draft withdrawal agreement was the best that could be negotiated and it was for the Cabinet to decide whether to move on in the talks.

"The choices before us were difficult, particularly in relation to the Northern Ireland backstop, but the collective decision of Cabinet was that the Government should agree the draft withdrawal agreement and the outline political declaration."

Mrs May said: "This is a decisive step which enables us to move on and finalise the deal in the days ahead.

"These decisions were not taken lightly but I believe it is a decision that is firmly in the national interest."

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier will be speaking to the press at 9pm (8pm UK time), according to EU Commission chief spokesman Margaritas Schinas.

As she made her statement the Prime Minister had to compete to be heard over the boos and shouts of anti-Brexit campaigners stood on Whitehall.

Mrs May said: "When you strip away the detail the choice before us is clear - this deal which delivers on the vote of the referendum, which brings back control of our money, laws and borders, ends free movement, protects jobs, security and our Union, or leave with no deal or no Brexit at all.

"I know there will be difficult days ahead. This is a decision that will come under intense scrutiny and that is entirely as it should be and entirely understandable."

Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's Brexit coordinator, said: "We welcome the positive progress made in the negotiations by Michel Barnier and his team, who have consistently fought for the interests of the European Union.

"We look forward to being fully apprised of the details of the withdrawal agreement tomorrow morning at 1100 (CET) by Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator.

"It is encouraging to see that we are moving towards a fair deal that should ensure an orderly withdrawal, including a backstop guaranteeing that there will be no hardening of the Northern Irish/Irish border and that the Good Friday Agreement will be safeguarded.

"This deal is a milestone towards a credible and sustainable future relationship between the EU and the UK.

"It is now up to elected Parliamentarians on both sides of the Channel to do their work and scrutinise the proposed deal, including the political declaration and the framework for future relationship.

"Throughout the Article 50 negotiations, we have fought for a people-first Brexit, and we are committed to forensically monitor closely the implementation of the citizen's rights parts of the agreement.

"The European Parliament will have the final say, along with the UK Parliament, on the deal."

Caroline Nokes, Minister of State for Immigration, left the Cabinet Office short after Mrs May's statement.

When asked by reporters if she agrees with the Cabinet's decision on the draft withdrawal agreement, she replied: "Of course."