Updated 19:30
Theresa May has said 95% of a Brexit deal has been reached between the EU and UK, but acknowledged that the issue of a Northern Ireland backstop remains a 'considerable' sticking point.
The British Prime Minister was again updating MPs in Westminster, following last week's EU Council summit in Brussels.
She again committed to avoiding a hard border in Ireland, but added she could not accept the original backstop proposed by the EU.
She told MPs: "95% of the withdrawal agreement and its protocols are now settled.
"There is one real sticking point left, but a considerable one - which is how we guarantee, that in the unlikely event that our future relationship is not in place by the end of the implementation period, there is no return to a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland."
Mrs May suggested there had been a 'substantial shift' in the EU position, as they have agreed to examine the prospect of a temporary UK-EU joint customs territory as a possible backstop.
Extension 'undesirable'
She noted that she had not committed to any extension of the Brexit implementation period - which will come into effect after the UK formally leaves the EU next March - and said an extension would be 'undesirable'.
She observed: "If at the end of 2020 our future relationship is not quite ready, the UK would be able to make a sovereign choice between the UK-wide customs backstop or a short extension of the implementation period.
"There are some limited circumstances in which it could be argued that an extension to the implementation period could be preferable, if we sure it was only for a short period of time."
Mrs May again argued that the impasse is about 'insurance policies' that nobody in either the EU or UK wants to see used.
She said: "We cannot let this become the barrier to reaching the future partnership we all want to see.
"We have to explore very possible solution to break the impasse, and that is what I am doing."
Today's speech came only days after around 700,000 demonstrators marched in London calling for a “people’s vote” on the final deal.
However, Mrs May again shot down any chance of a second referendum - claiming it would instead be a 'politicians' vote'.
'Still hasn't grasped the fundamentals'
Mary Lou McDonald. Picture by: Niall Carson/PA Wire/PA Images
Meanwhile, the Sinn Féin leader has said Theresa May needs to 'get real' when it comes to Brexit.
Mary Lou McDonald was unimpressed by the British Prime Minister's speech today, and said Mrs May has to address a number of issues.
She observed: "It's evident from Mrs May's statement that she still hasn't grasped the fundamentals - the fundamentals that Ireland is a special and particular case; the fact that without a backstop there will be no withdrawal agreement; and that the backstop cannot be temporary.
"In fact, a temporary backstop is no backstop at all."
