Theresa May's leadership and her plans for Brexit have come under intense pressure after a setback in talks with Brussels over the weekend.

A hastily arranged meeting between Brexit secretary Dominic Raab and European Union negotiator, Michel Barnier, failed to produce a breakthrough, leaving the process on a knife-edge ahead of a crunch summit on Wednesday.

Ms May was forced to come before MPs to discuss the state of the talks, as the the impasse over measures to prevent a hard border with Ireland threw the timetable for reaching a deal into major doubt.

The prime minister insisted that a deal was "still achievable" during a heated Commons statement, where she faced criticism from all sides over her approach.

Donald Tusk, the European Council president, also piled on the pressure by tweeting that a no-deal Brexit was "more likely than ever" shortly after Ms May's Commons address.

It was confirmed that the prime minister will address the 27 leaders before the European Council dinner in a last-ditch bid to win them over - though she will not be allowed into the main discussion itself.