British Prime Minister Theresa May arrives for a meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk (not in the picture) in Brussels, Belgium, December 4, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May and other British officials will speak to Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) on Tuesday after a tentative deal on Brexit with the European Union over the border with Ireland was dashed at the last minute.

An official at her Number 10 official residence said the British leader may return to Brussels as early as Wednesday to try to save a deal to open the way for talks on future trade after Britain leaves the EU that involved accepting “regulatory alignment” on the island of Ireland to avoid a hard border.