The British Prime Minister Theresa May has said people in the UK just want the Brexit process done.

She was speaking in Brussels, after the 27 EU leaders endorsed the withdrawal agreement.

The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, and several other officials, has insisted there is no alternative deal on offer.

He said: "Anyone can have a better deal or an alternative deal in their own minds - but an agreement 500 pages long that 28 member states can sign up to? Nobody has that - so what's on the table is the only deal that's on the table".

He added the "core difficultly" with people who argue there is a better deal on offer is "they don't agree among themselves what that better deal could be, they probably wouldn't have a majority in parliament for an alternative deal, either - and they certainly wouldn't have 28 member states signed up to it.

"Really what's being put in front of the European Parliament and the House of Commons is a deal - any other deal really only exists in people's imaginations".

"This deal delivers for you all"

Speaking after a special meeting of the European Council on Sunday, Mrs May said she wanted to speak "directly to the British people" and explain what the deal means.

She outlined aspects such as border control, financial control and control over laws being returned to the UK.

She said: "But I have been just as determined that as well as taking back control, this should be a deal that protects the things we value in our relationship with our European friends and sets us on course for a future of opportunity and prosperity and this deal does that too.

"So if your family's livelihood depends on a skilled job in our manufacturing sector, you need a deal that keeps goods flowing easily across borders and keeps supply chains intact. This deal does that."

"If you are one of the over three million EU citizens who has come and built your life in the UK - come to be our colleagues, our neighbours and our friends - you need a deal that guarantees your rights.

"If you are one of the almost one million UK nationals living elsewhere in the EU, you need the same. This deal delivers for you all."

UK PM Theresa May speaking following a special meeting of the European Council in Brussels | Image: © European Union

She added that Westminster MPs will vote on the deal before Christmas.

"It will be one of the most significant votes that parliament has held for many years.

"On it will depend whether we move forward together into a brighter future or open the door to yet more division and uncertainty.

"The British people don't want to spend any more time arguing about Brexit.

"They want a good deal done that fulfils the vote and allows us to come together again as a country.

"So I will take this deal back to the House of Commons confident we have achieved the best deal available and full of optimism about the future of our country."

Mrs May is facing a massive challenge to get the deal passed in her parliament - and if she cannot, it is back to square one for negotiations.

She faces challenges from the DUP, UK Labour and rebels from within her own Conservative Party.