Boris Johnson today made a tactical appearance at the DUP party conference in Belfast to fire up the party faithful in a bid to scupper Theresa May's Brexit plans.

In a blistering attack delivered at the conference, the former foreign secretary warned that the PM was heading for an 'iceberg' and her package would leave Northern Ireland 'ruled by the EU'.

His speech comes as DUP leader Arlene Foster claimed Theresa May's Brexit deal would result in a worse outcome for Britain than a government led by Jeremy Corbyn.

Using this to his advantage, Johnson delivered his speech today hoping to tip the party in his favour and encourage it to vote against the draft Brexit plan.

He said Mrs May was giving away the £39billion divorce settlement too easily – suggesting half should be withheld until after a final trade agreement is sealed at the end of 2020.

Mr Johnson said in his speech today that the EU had pulled a 'very clever trick' by making Northern Ireland 'their indispensable bargaining chip'

Boris Johnson delivered a bruising speech at the DUP party conference today in Belfast in which he said Mrs May was giving away the £39billion divorce settlement too easily

The condemnation came after the DUP made clear it is ready to pull the plug on its support for May if she does not think again, potentially bringing her time in No10 to a halt.

Asked if Mrs May's Brexit is a greater threat than a government led by Jeremy Corbyn, Mrs Foster told the Times: 'I think it is, and the reason I say that is on day one of us leaving the EU there would be no difference, we would be exactly the same as the rest of the UK but in year five or ten we would be different.'

Mrs May is scrambling to seal her divorce deal with the EU at a summit tomorrow – although wrangling with Spain over the status of Gibraltar could yet throw a spanner in the works.

But even if she succeeds the PM is facing 'mission impossible' to get her agreement through Parliament, with more than 80 Tory MPs publicly vowing to rebel in a crunch vote next month. The DUP, Labour, the SNP and Lib Dems are also against the package – with a catastrophic defeat seeming all-but inevitable.

Mr Johnson again stopped short of calling for Mrs May to be ousted today, despite dozens of other Eurosceptics putting in no-confidence letters.

But he attempted to burnish his leadership credentials by delivering a speech to the DUP conference and urging them to keep standing up for the Union.

Boris Johnson arrives at the DUP party conference in Belfast today as he prepares to deliver a speech criticising Theresa May's Brexit plan. He was greeted with a kiss from DUP Leader Arlene Foster

Mr Johnson was greeted by both DUP Leader Arlene Foster and Deputy leader Nigel Dodds as he arrived at the conference this afternoon

Slamming the draft agreement as a consequence of 'failure of political will', Mr Johnson said the government should tear up the Irish border 'backstop' plan and instead rely on technology to avoid a hard line between Northern Ireland and the Republic after Brexit.

He said future trade with the EU should be based on a 'Canada-plus' model that ensured the UK could still strike trade deals elsewhere.

Mr Johnson said the country was 'on the the verge of making a historic mistake'.

'If we are not careful we are going to stay in the customs union, we are going to stay in the single market, we are going to be rules takers,' he said.

'Unless we junk this backstop, we will find that Brussels has got us exactly where they want us – a satellite state.

'We will continue to accept the terms under which they have a surplus in trade in goods with us of £95billion pounds.

The leader of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party later used her keynote speech at the annual conference to reject the British government's planned Brexit deal

'But with no power to influence those terms. We won't be able to do free trade deals of any value or significance.'

Mr Johnson said the EU had pulled a 'very clever trick' by making Northern Ireland 'their indispensable bargaining chip'.

The leader of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party later used her keynote speech at the annual conference to reject the British government's planned Brexit deal.

Arlene Foster said in Belfast on Saturday that the deal agreed by Prime Minister Theresa May is unacceptable and must be improved upon in the weeks ahead.

Foster's view is important because the DUP provides crucial votes that help keep May's Conservative Party in power despite its minority position in Parliament.

She said that the draft agreement raises constitutional questions that can't be ignored.

Foster said the DUP insists on 'an outcome that does not leave Northern Ireland open to the perils of increased divergence away from the rest of the United Kingdom.'

Samantha Sacramento (left), Minister for Housing and Equality in the Government of Gibraltar met with DUP Party Leader, Arlene Foster (right), today during the party's annual conference at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Belfast

Ms Sacramento gave a rousing address in which she said it was critical the United Kingdom ensures Spain does not make attempts to remove its sovereignty

Questions had been raised over whether the crucial EU summit would go ahead, after Spain's Prime Minister threatened he wouldn't attend.

Visiting Cuba last night, Pedro Sanchez said that Madrid must be allowed to negotiate directly with London on Gibraltar.

He said it must be allowed to give its specific assent to any changes to its relationship to the European Union in a future agreement between Britain and Brussels.

'If there's no agreement, it's very clear what will happen, there very probably won't be a European Council' summit, he said.

But today Pedro Sanchez withdrew his threat to boycott the EU summit on Sunday and said Spain will vote in favour of Brexit - after clinching a last-minute deal.

It came after Theresa May caved in to demands that Spain be given a say in the future of the disputed British territory of Gibraltar, which lies at the southern tip of the Mediterranean nation.

The issue had earlier been raised by a Gibraltar housing minister at the DUP conference who demanded that Spain be given no hope of taking away its sovereignty in Brexit talks.

Samantha Sacramento was given a rousing reception by the DUP faithful in Belfast as she insisted Gibraltar will not be 'bullied' by any bid from Madrid to undermine its sovereignty.

She was responding to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who yesterday warned he might not attend the summit if the leaders do not acknowledge that Madrid holds a veto over the fate of Gibraltar in any post-Brexit negotiation of new EU-UK ties.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (pictured in Cuba) warned last night that he may not attend a crucial EU summit on Sunday should he not be granted more concessions over Gibraltar

Ms Sacramento was standing in for Gibraltar's chief minister Fabian Picardo. Mr Picardo had been due to address the party conference this morning, but the renewed focus on the British territory in the Brexit talks forced him to pull out to focus on the negotiations.

She was applauded as she told DUP conference delegates in the Crown Plaza Hotel: 'Gibraltar will not fold.

'The Union Jack, our precious Union Jack, is not a mere flag. To those of us who have endured hard times to secure the continuity of our British heritage, our British values and freedoms, the Union Jack encapsulates all we are as a people.'

Prime Minister Theresa May has insisted the proposed EU withdrawal deal is in the interests of 'the whole UK family', including Gibraltar.

The rock of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, historically claimed by Spain, is seen from the Spanish city of La Linea de la Concepcion, southern Spain, this morning. Last night Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez ramped up pressure on Theresa May insisting he be given more concessions over the land

Today housing minister Samantha Sacramento insisted Gibraltar (a high street is pictured today) will not be 'bullied' by any bid from Madrid to undermine its sovereignty

Ms Sacramento said Gibraltar was committed to making Brexit work, despite the fact that 96 per cent of its citizens voted Remain.

So what happens next? If a vote in Parliament on Theresa May's deal is passed, Britain leaves the EU on those terms in March next year. But if the vote is defeated, there are four scenarios: Option 1. Labour tables a vote of no confidence in the Government. If passed, there is a general election 2. Tory MPs force a vote of no confidence in Mrs May. If passed, she would resign, triggering a leadership contest. A new leader could delay the UK's exit by up to a year, in order to negotiate a new deal 3. The Cabinet persuades Mrs May to seek more concessions from Brussels. If successful, she could try a second vote on the new deal 4. Mrs May forces a second Commons vote on her existing deal (or a new one), hoping market turmoil will persuade MPs to think again If a second vote is defeated there are five possibilities: Option 1. Labour tables a vote of no confidence in the Government, hoping to trigger a general election 2. Mrs May announces Britain will leave without a deal – which could trigger Cabinet resignations and a vote of no confidence in her 3. Parliament votes to keep the UK in the customs union, compelling Mrs May to try to negotiate such a deal from Brussels 4. The Government extends Article 50 to delay the UK's exit by up to a year, allowing more time for negotiations and preparations 5. MPs vote to hold a second referendum on Britain's membership of the EU Advertisement

'It is critical that the United Kingdom remains firm in the defence of our right to self-determination and that Spain is given no hope in its campaign to take our sovereignty from us,' she told the DUP faithful.

'Our borders and our history are very different but our solidarity in defence of our democratic right to preserve our British way of life is unshakeable.'

She concluded: 'Gibraltar greatly appreciates the support that the DUP has expressed in support of Gibraltar and its right to remain British and, as my chief minister so often says, we are red, white and blue, we are red, white and proud.'

Gibraltar, a tiny rocky outcrop home to a port and around 30,000 people, is a British territory claimed by Spain and will be a bone of contention as London negotiates a new relationship with Brussels after Brexit day on March 29.

The dispute over Gibraltar is not the only issue threatening Mrs May's Brexit discussions this weekend.

The EU is threatening to withhold Britain's right to extend its planned post-Brexit transition period beyond 2020 over a dispute over fishing rights.

It is among the issues up for discussion at the crucial summit tomorrow, and focuses on European fisherman being given access to UK waters 'well before' the extension is triggered.

In a draft document seen by the Financial Times, the EU warns that a deal on fishing is a 'matter of priority'.

The dispute comes as Theresa May heads to Brussels today in the hope of securing fellow leaders' backing for her Brexit deal.

She is this evening due to separately meet with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and president of the European Council, Donald Tusk.

On Thursday Mr Tusk sent a draft of the political declaration to the EU 27 countries.

The document sets out the framework for the future relationship between the UK and the EU.

It has been agreed at negotiators' level and agreed in principle at political level.

Theresa May (pictured) heads to Brussels this evening ahead of a crucial EU summit on Sunday. Leaders of the EU27 will meet with the aim of endorsing the draft Brexit withdrawal agreement and to approve the draft Political Declaration on future UK-EU relations

The leaders of the EU27 will now meet on Sunday with the aim of endorsing the draft Brexit withdrawal agreement and to approve the draft Political Declaration on future UK-EU relations.

The Withdrawal Agreement is the 585-page legal text that sets out the terms of the UK's departure.

Among its contents are arrangements for the contentious Northern Ireland backstop and the £39 billion 'divorce bill'.

Theresa May 'to announce curbs on low-skilled migrants' in last-ditch bid to get hardline Brexiteers to back her EU deal Theresa May is set to announce limits on low-skilled immigration to Britain in a bid to get her Brexit deal through the Commons, it was claimed last night. According to leaked Cabinet papers, the Home Office has drawn up plans to issue low-skilled migrants with 11-month visas. Theresa May (pictured) is set to announce limits on low-skilled immigration to Britain in a bid to get her Brexit deal through the Commons, it was claimed last night The new visas would reportedly offer 'restricted entitlements and rights' while they are living in the UK, the Telegraph reported. The Government will abolish the cap on highly skilled 'tier 2' migrants entirely, the report said, with the plans set out in the week beginning December 3. That would be a week before the crunch vote on the Brexit agreement is expected in the Commons. Immigration was a key theme in the referendum with Leave campaigners promising to end free movement between EU countries and Britain. Advertisement

The declaration states how trade, security and other issues will work in broader terms.

As Mrs May makes a final push to get approval for her deal in Brussels there is due to be a weekend of vocal discontent at home.

Just last week she announced she would be going on the road to convince voters her deal was the 'right one' for Britain - effectively tying her political fortunes to the project.

While in interview with BBC's Emma Barnett yesterday she refused to say if she would quit if she fails during a live radio phone-in.

She said the deal - due to be signed off by the EU leaders on Sunday - would protect jobs and allow Britain to get on with Brexit in March.

But asked repeatedly whether she will resign if she loses in the Commons - as seems inevitable - Mrs May swerved the question to insist: 'No... I'm focusing on ensuring that we get this deal through Parliament.

'I believe this is absolutely the right deal for the UK. This is not about me.'

The DUP conference is taking place in Belfast, where leader Arlene Foster is due to tell delegates that the Withdrawal Agreement's backstop plans are against Northern Ireland's interests. Tory Brexiteer Boris Johnson is also expected to speak.

Democratic Unionist deputy leader Nigel Dodds told the Prime Minister in his speech at the conference today that it was not too late to bin the Brexit deal.

He warned that the proposed Withdrawal Agreement would see the UK assume a 'pitiful and pathetic place'.

The party's Westminster leader insisted the union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was 'non-negotiable'.

'It is still not too late for the Prime Minister to change course,' said the North Belfast MP.

'Don't believe the propaganda that it's too late - it isn't.'

Mr Dodds, who spoke ahead of scheduled addresses by party leader Arlene Foster and former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, offered a scathing critique of the Irish border 'backstop' proposal that would see Northern Ireland operate under a number of different regulatory rules to Great Britain if a wider UK/EU trade deal fails to materialise.

Deputy Leader of the DUP Nigel Dodds told the party conference in Belfast today that it was 'not too late for the Prime Minister to change course'

'The DUP wants a deal with the European Union, we understand that businesses, families and communities want certainty,' he told delegates.

'But it is not this deal. It is not a deal at any price. The prime minister used to say that. We still say that.

'So Prime Minister, the message from this conference, from every section of this party is - bin the backstop.'

He added: 'In the coming weeks Parliament will be faced with a clear choice on the future of our country.

'To be a free independent trading nation leaving the EU as one United Kingdom or to be locked into an EU straitjacket, divided and diminished.

'The published Withdrawal Agreement portrays a pitiful and pathetic place for the United Kingdom.

'Hundreds of pages are devoted to a backstop which will bind the United Kingdom into taking the rules of the EU with no right to leave and no end date.'

Also speaking today, finance minister Philip Hammond claimed that Britain's draft deal to leave the European Union is the best available solution to safeguard the economy and start to reunite a divided country.

'This deal is a way of Britain leaving the European Union ... with minimum negative impact on our economy,' Hammond told the BBC.

'The only thing that is holding the economy back at the moment is uncertainty about our relationship with the European Union,' he added.

'If we were to leave the EU without a deal I have no doubt that the consequences for the economy would be very serious indeed, very disruptive and very negative for jobs, for prosperity in the future.'

Democratic Unionist Party leader Arlene Foster greets UK Chancellor Phillip Hammond as he arrives to speak at the DUP party conference yesterday. He defended the draft Brexit agreement as good for the country

Hammond, who met DUP leader Arlene Foster on Friday, defended the agreement as good for a country where divisions have been exposed by the June 2016 EU referendum.

'Remaining in the EU after a clear referendum decision to leave EU would be utterly debilitating to our politics, it would completely undermine confidence in the political system and leave large numbers of people feeling betrayed,' he said.

'We also have to look at the political healing process, bringing our country back together, because (...) countries that are disunited and divided are not successful countries.'

Later this morning, the chancellor told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he believed the deal on offer was better for the UK than remaining in the EU, stressing that it would help heal the divisions caused by Brexit.

'It's a way of leaving the European Union with minimum negative impact on our economy,' he said.

'Economics is not the only consideration - we also have to look at the political healing process, bringing our country back together because countries that are disunited and divided are not successful countries.

'If we want this country to be successful in the future, we have got to bring it back together after this process.'

He warned that a no-deal Brexit would unleash 'economic chaos', adding: 'If the meaningful vote is lost we are in uncharted territory. We will be faced with potential economic chaos; I am sure we would get a very negative reaction from the business community, from investors, from the markets.

He added 'we might end up with no deal, we might end up with no Brexit' if the Withdrawal Agreement is blocked by Parliament.