Chance of a Brexit deal "increasing"

The chance of the UK and the EU agreeing a Brexit deal has grown in the last few days, the head of the European Commission has said.

Speaking to the Austrian press, Jean-Claude Juncker said that while he was not sure an agreement could be reached by October, it could be by November.

Foreign office minister Sir Alan Duncan also expressed optimism that a deal could be reached before December.

The UK is due to leave the EU on 29 March 2019.

But there is still no agreement on some issues, including how to avoid new checks on the Irish border.

Asked in an interview whether an agreement could be reached at the next meeting of European leaders in 11 days' time, Mr Juncker said: "We are not that far yet. But our will is unbroken to reach agreement with the British government."

He also reiterated his position that a no-deal scenario "would not be good" for either the UK or the EU.

EU officials gave an upbeat assessment of progress in the negotiations on Friday evening and reported a better atmosphere in talks over the Irish border.

That prompted sterling to rise against the Euro and the US dollar.

The BBC's Brussels correspondent Adam Fleming said officials still "seem to be pushing for the whole withdrawal agreement to basically be done" by the EU summit on 17 October.

"Although, if we have learned anything from Brexit it's that the timetable is incredibly flexible, to use diplomatic language," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.