Adam Fleming
Brussels reporter

Member states' ambassadors have ended their Brexit briefing in Brussels. A source said they received a presentation on the scope and substance of the draft agreement. They also discussed no-deal planning.

There could still be a response from Brussels tonight. Officials say the text of the withdrawal agreement and an outline of the political declaration on the future relationship will be published as soon as London gives the green light. Michel Barnier could then announce that decisive progress has been made in the talks - and Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab does not have to be with him to do this.

As the meeting broke up. members of staff from the European Commission's Brexit Task Force were filmed leaving the meeting carrying sealed, unopened cardboard boxes filled with documents.

The letters Laura mentions are letters to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs. That's the first step towards a possible vote of no confidence in the leader.

Katya Adler
Europe Editor

In stark contrast to the political cacophony in the UK, EU politicians in Brussels and beyond have so far held their counsel over the draft Brexit agreement.

For good reason: they haven’t yet clapped eyes on its 500 pages.

Brussels is also watching and waiting first for a statement by Theresa May.

While there has been much focus in the UK media on domestic opposition to the draft agreement, concerns among EU leaders should not be underestimated.

European governments are keen to pore over the compromise wording on the backstop - that guarantee over the Irish border - with a fine-tooth comb.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar assured the Irish parliament today that the Good Friday agreement would be protected – but EU leaders want to see how watertight the Irish border backstop really is.

Countries that do most trade with the UK also want to ensure that the EU-UK customs partnership, contained in the backstop, would not accord British businesses any advantages over European ones.

They instructed EU Brexit negotiators to tie the UK into a so-called level playing field - meaning common labour, environmental and state aid regulations.

The 25 November is a date being floated as a possible seal-the-deal Brexit summit between Theresa May and her European counterparts but it’s by no means certain.

Amid the confusion over whether or not we'd get the PM's statement, this news came in from Brussels.

After some confusion, it seems as if there will not be a press conference tonight, but the prime minister will provide a statement after the cabinet meeting has concluded.

Confusion over whether we're going to hear from Theresa May after all this evening. It may be a Commons statement tomorrow instead.

Some news from the BBC's Ireland correspondent Emma Vardy.

Democratic Unionist Party sources say their leader, Arlene Foster, is due to meet Theresa May after the cabinet meeting ends - whenever that is.

To recap, it got going around 2pm, had been expected to finish around 5pm, but is still under way...

Speaking to the BBC, Vice-Chair of the Conservative Party Helen Whately says "it's no surprise that cabinet is taking quite a while. This is a really important set of documents and it's important that they are discussed at length.

"I hope the cabinet will back the deal but the important thing is to wait for them to come out."

She says the best thing for MPs to do is to "hold off and give your opinion on the deal when you've seen the paperwork".

"At the moment there's an awful lot of speculation."

BBC News Channel

The ex-head of the Foreign Office has said he "does not know what will happen next" if the cabinet rejects the draft Brexit agreement.

Sir Simon Fraser, who led the department between 2010 and 2015, tells the BBC that while some ministers may offer their backing "grudgingly", he believes "on balance" that it will pass.

On the bigger picture, he says the UK and EU have both made compromises and have a mutual interest in avoiding a no deal.

While the chances of another referendum have gone up slightly in recent weeks, he says there is no guarantee that it will happen or that would deliver a different result than in 2016.

If Graham Brady, the 1922 Committee chairman, receives 48 letters from MPs saying they no longer have confidence in Theresa May, it could trigger a leadership contest.

Jeremy Corbyn MP, Ian Blackford MP, Vince Cable MP, Liz Saville Roberts MP and Caroline Lucas MP have written a joint letter to the Prime Minister demanding that she urgently makes a statement to the House of Commons on the withdrawal agreement and future framework between the EU and the UK.

The letter states that it would be “entirely inappropriate” for the Prime Minister to brief the press before coming to the House to make a statement and to be questioned by elected members of Parliament.

Theresa May is expected to make a statement outside Downing Street this evening.

Damian Grammaticas
Europe correspondent

The BBC's Europe correspondent Damian Grammaticas says the EU 27 ambassadors haven't been given the draft withdrawal agreement documents yet, and will not do so unless the "official green light" has been given from Theresa May in London.

"They're trying to do everything they can to not distract discussions in the UK," he says.

He adds that it could be a late night ahead in Brussels.