Jacob Rees-Mogg has hinted that the government is preparing to make compromises in order to get a Brexit deal - telling Sky News he may have to "eat my words" - as Europe says there is more work to be done.

The Leader of the House of Commons told Sophy Ridge on Sunday that negotiations with Brussels "seem to be taking a serious turn" and the situation "looks a lot more positive this week than it did last week".

Prime Minister Boris Johnson told his cabinet on Sunday afternoon that a "pathway to a deal" was in sight, but there remained a "significant amount of work to get there".

The European Commission released a statement which said: "A lot of work remains to be done."

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Talks will continue on Monday at a technical level and Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, will brief ministers on Tuesday.


Mr Rees-Mogg was chairman of the European Research Group of eurosceptic MPs before becoming a member of Boris Johnson's government - and came to be seen as a standard bearer for the Brexiteer cause.

In a significant intervention ahead of a week that could see the prime minister bring back a deal from an EU summit and hold a vote on it in the Commons, Mr Rees-Mogg has urged fellow Brexiteers to trust Mr Johnson.

He reiterated this in his Sky News interview, saying that the PM was "somebody who even the arch eurosceptics, even a member of the Brexit Party can trust and have confidence in".

Mr Rees-Mogg gave little away in terms of what is in the government's new plan, saying: "We'll have to wait and see what the precise details are.

"Naturally in the middle of a negotiation these matters are extremely sensitive as everyone is compromising to some degree and therefore to give negotiations the best chance of succeeding, it is best to be discreet about them."

There have been reports in recent days that the latest proposal is similar to one put forward by former prime minister Theresa May, which Mr Rees-Mogg at the time called "completely cretinous".

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Pushed on this, Mr Rees-Mogg pointedly did not dismiss the notion.

"We'll have to find out in a day or two whether I'll have to eat my words or not - time will tell," he said.

"There's a line from Churchill saying that he often had to eat his words and he found it to be a very nourishing diet - and that is something that happens in politics."

Mr Rees-Mogg added: "But it is ultimately a question of trust about the direction of where we are going.

"I trust Boris Johnson to ensure the relationship the United Kingdom has with the European Union is one where we are not a vassal state."

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He said Britain had "already made" compromises in the negotiations, claiming that the government had agreed to pay the so-called "divorce bill" even though "the £39bn is not owed under UK, international or EU law".

Brussels has always rejected such an assertion, saying it expected Britain to "honour all commitments made during EU membership".

Getting Northern Ireland's DUP onside will be key to getting any deal passed by MPs.

The party's Westminster leader, Nigel Dodds, made it clear on Saturday that any resolution that would see Northern Ireland remain within the EU's customs union "cannot work".

Asked by Italian newspaper La Repubblica whether his party could back a deal along the lines suggested so far, he said: "We'll wait and see."

Asked about these comments, Mr Rees-Mogg responded: "The prime minister is Minister of the Union and is deeply and personally committed to ensuring the union is robust and prosperous.

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"And I don't believe the prime minister would do anything that undermined the integrity of the UK."

He added: "The prime minister has made it clear that the United Kingdom will remain a single customs territory and that Northern Ireland will remain within a UK customs union.

"He's been explicit about that."

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