THE European Union may review the draft Brexit deal, it has been suggested.
There was speculation about a possible alteration to the deal after Tory Brexiteer Owen Paterson was seen carrying an email from a senior EU negotiator.
The email, which was captured by photographers outside Number 10 yesterday, was from senior EU negotiator Sabine Wey and to Mr Paterson.
The message apparently approved of some Tory Brexiteers' suggestions about the border.
The group, including five Tory ministers, want a change in the draft text to include the possibility of new technology or a free trade deal as alternative solutions to the border issue.
Mr Paterson, a former secretary of state, was among a delegation of Brexiteers who met Prime Minister Theresa May in Downing Street yesterday.
The group is concerned that the north will be treated differently than Britain under the terms of the withdrawal agreement and are opposed to the planned backstop which will effectively keep the north within the EU's customs union.
Tory Commons leader Andrea Leadsom has already warned the UK should not be "trapped" in an EU customs union.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald has said the DUP have "got it catastrophically wrong" by rejecting the withdrawal agreement.
Ms McDonald said while the draft agreement was "not perfect... it is certainly a baseline to protect our economic interests and agreements".
"It’s now very clear right across Ireland, north and south that that key voices from business, agriculture and other sectors are coming out and facing down the very negative politics advanced by the DUP and the Tory Brexiteers," she said.
"Now is the time to ensure that the bottom lines around no hard border, the protection of the Good Friday Agreement and citizens' rights are met.
"This is vital to protect everybody who lives and works on the island of Ireland."
