Brexit news latest – Theresa May rings round every single EU leader to beg for help as she has just nine days to save her deal
Ireland's leaders have insisted they won't give the PM a hand in fixing the current Brexit deal
THERESA May is speaking to every European leader to try and save her Brexit plans as she enters another crunch week.
The PM has just nine days to secure agreement on her deal - or the Commons is likely to step in and block her.
She has now embarked on an individual lobbying campaign with each of the 27 EU heads of government.
But the crucial week began badly for Mrs May as Ireland's deputy PM insisted "keyhole surgery" on the deal is impossible.
The PM has already spoken to the majority of European leaders in the past few days, and will call the others this week.
She is keen to sign off on her deal before next Wednesday - otherwise MPs will have a chance to derail her Brexit strategy.
In nine days' time, the House of Commons will again vote on whether to rule out No Deal.
CLOCK IS TICKING
Ministers worry that will remove Mrs May's leverage with the EU - because they can just delay Brexit if Parliament doesn't sign off on a deal.
One Cabinet minister : "March is the deadline really. It can’t go later than that."
Another minister added: "It has to be now - this can't hold much longer."
The PM is travelling to Brussels later this week to meet Jean-Claude Juncker.
Other ministers including Jeremy Hunt, Geoffrey Cox and Stephen Barclay are also touring Europe to try and secure changes to the deal which can get it past the House of Commons.
Mr Juncker's spokesman said today: "We are happy to revisit anything that would clarify the situation, without reopening the withdrawal agreement but helping our British partners to construct a majority in the House of Commons."
And Mrs May's deputy David Lidington insisted this week's talks are more than just a "courtesy call".
Today the PM was dealt a blow as Ireland's deputy PM Simon Coveney insisted Dublin won't give ground on the hated backstop plan which is designed to keep a hard border open.
He said: "There is a deal on the table. The British Government signed up to it.
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"They haven't been able to sell that to their own parliament. And I accept that has created a lot of uncertainty, but it is certainly not Ireland's fault.
"The responsibility to resolve this problem in terms of the way forward needs to lie where the problem is, which is in London not Dublin."
In a sign of escalating tension, Sajid Javid has written to EU ministers warning they should step up preparations for a possible No Deal outcome.
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