The DUP would be open to a soft Brexit that kept the whole of the UK in a customs union with Brussels, senior sources have told The Times.

In a break from Conservative Brexiteers, leading figures in the DUP have indicated that they could sign up to a Norway-style deal with a customs union if it removed the threat of the Northern Irish backstop. The issue is understood to have been raised in meetings between the DUP and senior government ministers as part of attempts to break the Brexit impasse. Any shift in position would frustrate hardline Brexiteers who have had the DUP’s support over their opposition to Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement.

Two senior sources in the DUP said that the party’s opposition to