Donald Tusk gives Ireland crucial backing on border

European Council president Donald Tusk has handed Leo Varadkar a crucial veto in the Brexit negotiations as tense talks with the UK this weekend go down to the wire. 

If any proposal on the contentious issue of the border for Ireland is unacceptable, it would also be for the EU as a whole, declared Mr Tusk after a meeting in Dublin with the Taoiseach.

The statement by Mr Tusk effectively means Ireland will now have the final say on whether the UK can progress to the phase two of the Brexit negotiations. This will be decided in the coming days.