British Prime Minister Theresa May has reportedly secured a deal that will allow Britain to remain in the customs union after Brexit and avoid a hard Irish border, resolving the biggest stumbling block in negotiations with the EU.
A government spokesman in London, however, described as "speculation" the Sunday Times report which claimed May had made concessions to Brussels to resolve the so-called Irish question.
The spokesman merely told dpa that "good progress" had been made in the negotiations.
London and Brussels are currently at odds over how to prevent the return of a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which will leave the EU with Britain at the end of March.
The Times reported that according to the deal, remaining in the EU customs union will only be temporary. May is planning to discuss the plan with cabinet on Tuesday, the newspaper said.
The Irish question has been the biggest stumbling block in Britain's Brexit negotiations with the EU. May had earlier claimed that "95 per cent of the withdrawal agreement and its protocols are now settled".
Many fear that the reintroduction of border controls between Northern Ireland, a UK territory, and the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state, could stoke underlying tensions in the former conflict region.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Saturday warned that Brexit was "fraying" ties between Britain and Ireland, as negotiations over the border question appeared to have stalled.
