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The Prime Minister spoke to chief Eurocrat Jean-Claude Juncker at the end of a day of telephone diplomacy with EU leaders to find a way to break the deadlock. Britain’s top Brexit adviser, David Frost, is heading to Brussels today (WED) for technical talks with officials about possible next steps. Downing Street believes there has been a shift in the willingness to negotiate a new Brexit agreement and hints of positivity from key EU leaders, including Germany’s Angela Merkel.

Senior sources said there had been a change in tone from compared to a month ago when the Irish border backstop was considered “sacrosanct”. But rigid officials in the European Commission are refusing to budge. No 10 wants to see a change in substance, not just language, before it will submit new proposals to Brussels. It wants the EU to show where it is willing to shift and wants to head off officials simply receiving plans only to knock them down.

Boris Johnson had a heated call with EU's Juncker yesterday

Downing Street is working to a 50 day final deadline for reaching a new agreement when EU leaders meet for a summit in Brussels on October 17. “If there’s a deal to be done it will be October 17 and no sooner,” a government source said. Mr Johnson spoke to the Commission president for about 20 minutes by telephone last night. It is the second time they have talked since he became Prime Minister and a couple of jokes were made during the "positive" conversation. The Prime Minister updated European Commission president on the discussions he has held with EU leaders over the last week, including at the G7 summit. He told Mr Juncker EU must compromise on the backstop.

A Downing Street spokesman said: “They had a positive and substantive conversation, where the Prime Minister updated Jean Claude Juncker on his recent discussions with EU leaders, including at the G7. “The Prime Minister set out that the UK will be leaving the EU on October 31, whatever the circumstances, and that we absolutely want to do so with a deal. “The PM was also clear however that unless the withdrawal agreement is reopened and the backstop abolished there is no prospect of that deal.” Mr Juncker said he would look at any concrete proposals on the Irish border backstop but insisted the bloc’s support for Ireland was steadfast. “President Juncker repeated his willingness to work constructively with Prime Minister Johnson and to look at any concrete proposals he may have, as long as they are compatible with the Withdrawal Agreement,” a Commission spokesman said. “President Juncker underlined the EU27’s support for Ireland is steadfast and that the EU will continue to be very attentive to Ireland’s interests.” The call came after conversations with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the premiers of Malta, Bulgaria, Romania and the Czech Republic. Mr Rutte said the Netherlands and other EU members “remain open to concrete proposals compatible with the withdrawal agreement: respect for the integrity of the single market and no hard border on the Irish isle”. Mr Johnson has invited a group of Tory MPs to Chequers on Friday as part of a charm offensive ahead of the start of the new parliamentary session next week. But his attempts to remove the backstop from the withdrawal agreement are set to put him on a collision course with key Brexiteers in the party.

Boris Johnson held a 20 minute phone call with the EU chief

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, who ran Mr Johnson’s Tory leadership campaign, warned yesterday (TUES) there were “genuine concerns here that simply getting rid of the backstop isn’t enough”. He said the deal Theresa May struck was “a pig’s breakfast, under which the UK would surrender control to the EU far beyond the backstop”. Speculation Mr Johnson is preparing for a snap election was fuelled when the Treasury Sajid Javid cancelled a speech planned for today (WED) because he is bringing forward the spending review. Mr Javid announced over the summer that the settlement for day-to-day departmental budgets would be completed in September but it appeared to have been fast tracked to the start rather than the end of the month. It will include money to support Mr Johnson’s plans to recruit an 20,000 extra police officers, more funding for schools, and promises on the NHS. Mr Johnson said on Monday he was "marginally more optimistic" about the prospect of reaching a deal after meetings last week with Mrs Merkel, France's Emmanuel Macron and European Council president Donald Tusk.