Boris Johnson was in talks last night to save his Brexit plan after being warned by European leaders that the deal would not be approved at next week’s crunch summit unless he backed down.

The prime minister used a round of calls to EU capitals to try to keep his proposals for the Irish border alive, warning President Macron of France that this was the “final opportunity” to strike a deal.

Antti Rinne, the Finnish prime minister who holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said after speaking to Mr Johnson that No 10 understood that it was in a “big mess”. Arturs Krisjanis Karins, the Latvian prime minister, said that the prospect of a deal by the October 31 deadline was a “long shot”.

After speaking