It has been a tense (and cold) morning in Downing Street as the press eagerly awaits any updates on the post-Brexit trade deal.

Our political reporter Iain Watson is there and in need of a mulled wine to warm up.

Larry the No 10 Cat has been waiting for news too.

But the chief mouser found a way to pass the time and break the tension - sending some feathers flying in the process.

PA reporter Luke Powell caught the action...

Image source, PA

"Indications a deal is imminent mean many businesses are breathing a sigh of relief," says Labour's shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds.

"Yet early indications suggest this thin deal will have a major negative impact on GDP.

"With key industries subject to substantial barriers, these are not the promised ‘exact same benefits’."

Image source, Getty Images

With the Brexit transition period ending next week and a deal between the UK and the EU on the verge of being agreed, how do voters now feel about the decision to leave?

Prof Sir John Curtice has been studying the opinion polls, which suggest that voters are still divided on the issue.

While on average 39% of voters have said it was the right decision and 49% that it was wrong, another poll suggests that more people would vote to stay out than to rejoin if there was another referendum.

Find out more about the nation’s views here.

Gavin Lee
BBC Europe reporter

As I understand it, talks haven't yet finished between negotiators and they are still talking fish.

Through the night, the lights have been on and they have been talking species by species, herring by herring, mackerel by mackerel.

I am aware I keep saying this and the time has been slipping, but we are maybe an hour away from a deal being announced.

And then we will get those crucial details in the next few hours - things that will affect us, like rules on when I am driving in the EU, pet passports, medical insurance.

Hopefully we will get some more light on that as the day continues.

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

The call between Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen will take place "shortly", I am told.

That call is hugely significant because it is on that call that a deal will be - verbally, at least - agreed and sealed, barring any last minute hitches.

Of course, various other things have to happen subsequently, such as the recalling of Parliament to ratify a deal next week, and a retrospective ratification of any deal by the European Parliament early in the new year.

We will then get the details of what has been agreed - that 2,000 page document, including trade and security agreements.

But it will exclude some of the things people had been pressing for, such as financial services.

From Downing Street's point of view, what it will expect to see after these often tumultuous negotiations is tariff and quota free trade.

Image source, Getty Images

If you are just joining us, welcome to the BBC Politics live page on what looks like an historic day for the UK and EU.

While you tuck into your mince pies (too early?) and finish off that last minute wrapping (getting a bit late), here is what you have missed...

• Negotiators are in the final throes of agreeing a post-Brexit trade deal, with fish the last thing on the menu
• A call to finalise the deal between UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was expected at 07:00 GMT, but has been delayed
• The pair are still expected to talk this morning and an announcement to be made soon after on the final agreement, seven days before the end of the transition period

• The UK Parliament is expected to be recalled to vote on the deal, with 30 December the most likely date
• The EU Parliament will also need to vote on a deal and member states will be sent copies of the agreement
• The pound has risen in expectation of a deal

We will be bringing you all the news and analysis as it happens, so do stay with us - things could suddenly begin to move really quickly.

Image source, European Parliament

Before a UK-EU Brexit deal can fully come into force it will have to be ratified by the European Parliament, and that cannot happen until next month.

Kati Piri, the Parliament's Brexit rapporteur, says that's concerning from a democratic point of view, but she's relieved a deal is in sight, "first because we've had a horrible year - we're in the middle of an economic recession - and a no deal would have been a real low for the UK and the EU".

Normally, the Parliament and EU governments would have access to all the documents, she has told the BBC, but instead she believes the governments were handed the texts yesterday evening and all the ministries are working overtime to look at them. What she expects is for key parts to enter into force provisionally on 1 January - "we don't know yet which will and which will not".

Then the Parliament and its 17 specialised committees will scrutinise the detail and she hopes it can be ratified within a month: "We're in a bit of a rush now. We haven't set a timetable yet but normally it takes 136 days to scrutinise a trade deal. Everything goes a bit quicker when it comes to this deal so it probably won't take that long."

The agreement will "define our relations for years if not decades to come so it's important we look at all the elements", Ms Piri says.

Theo Leggett
BBC International Business Correspondent

It’s a negotiating process so there have been concessions - but it looks like we will be getting a deal.

The response from business so far seems to be welcoming it, because they certainly didn’t want no deal.

There’s a lot of relief but it’s a grudging welcome as well because this deal does still mean there’s going to be friction at our borders, that there will be more customs checks and formalities than there used to be on both sides and that is going to cost money and time.

But at least there is going to be tariff and quota-free access, by the looks of it, for goods, although, crucially, not for services.

Image source, House of Commons

When the detail of the deal comes out - hopefully later today - there will be many across the UK and EU poring over the content.

And the European Research Group of Brexit-backing Tory MPs will be among the first.

The backbenchers, who played a huge part in the parliamentary saga of the past five years, released a statement last night, saying they were reconvening their "star chamber" of legal experts to examine the deal.

It will be led by prominent Eurosceptic MP Sir Bill Cash, with a promise to "undertake its examination as expeditiously as possible, before providing its conclusions on the merits of the deal".

Boris Johnson is sure to be keen to hear the response of these most fervent of Brexit-supporting backbenchers and if he has won them over.

And it appears he won't have long to wait, as they aim to release their thoughts before Parliament is recalled to vote on any deal.

Image source, Getty Images

The leader of Wales' Plaid Cymru party in Westminster said this morning whatever the detail of the deal, it will be "worlds away" from what the public was promised in the 2016 referendum and 2019 election.

Liz Saville Roberts says: "Wales was told that we would continue to have the exact same benefits, that we would not receive a penny less, and that our farmers would be able to sell their produce to the rest of Europe as before.

"The Conservatives have broken their promises to Wales."

She adds there will be "significant new costs and complex bureaucracy" for businesses, the futures of our young people will be "threatened" and it will "remove many of our rights as citizens".

But Ms Saville Roberts says an agreement "does give minimal stability after so many years of wrangling" and will be a "relief to many" compared to a no deal scenario.

Image source, Getty Images

As part of a hard-won peace deal between Ireland and the UK, both governments agreed that the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland should be practically invisible - no cameras, no border posts.

This was easy when both Ireland and the UK were part of the EU, and people and goods could move between the two countries unhindered.

The UK's withdrawal from the EU means a new arrangement is needed for 1 January, because goods will be moved between the UK to the Republic of Ireland, which remains an EU member.

But any change has to avoid bringing back visible border checks.

Enter the Northern Ireland Protocol, aimed at ensuring trade can continue, and peace can be kept.

You can read a full explanation of the new rules here.

John Campbell
BBC News NI Economics and Business Editor

Northern Ireland already has a Brexit deal.

It’s called the Northern Ireland Protocol and was agreed by the EU and UK last year.

It means that whatever happens Northern Ireland will continue to have frictionless trade with the EU but will also face a new ‘sea border’ with the rest of the UK.

But a wider trade deal will make the Protocol easier to operate.

There are also some important areas that the Protocol doesn’t cover, most notably policing and security.

Northern Ireland’s Justice Minister has emphasised that it is important to get a deal which will allow for continued cooperation between police forces on both sides of the Irish border.

Image source, RTE

As we have reported, we expected a call between Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen to finalise a post-Brexit trade deal this morning.

But we are now being told the call is yet to happen.

We still expect it to take place, but the Irish foreign affairs minister suggests there appears to be "some sort of last-minute hitch" in the talks.

Simon Coveney told RTE Radio he understands the delay relates to a section of a fisheries agreement.

He adds: "I had hoped to be talking to you this morning in parallel with big announcements happening in both London and Brussels, but we still expect those later on today."

What is they say about watched pots never boiling?

Dharshini David
Economics Correspondent

Most focus will be on what the rumoured 2,000 pages will mean for the here and now but crucially the deal will give business more certainty to invest, and it’s that which underpins our longer-term prosperity.

The uncertainty of the last few years - first Brexit, then Covid - has seen that spending plunge at a record rate, by billions of pounds.

Turning on those taps again will be a vital step to replacing the jobs we’ve seen disappear this year.

Dominic O'Connell
Business Presenter, BBC Radio 4 Today programme

Image source, Getty Images

Sterling has always been the most reliable of Brexit trade deal sentiment - the pound rose against the US dollar on Wednesday and continued that rise this morning.

It started the week worth $1.34, dropped to $1.32 as hopes of a deal faded, and this morning climbed to $1.36.

The stock market reaction today has been muted - the FTSE 100 was barely changed this morning, but much of the reaction to the looming deal took place yesterday.

The FTSE 250, a stock market index that is regarded as more representative of the UK economy, climbed nearly 2% on Wednesday.

Lloyds Bank, which investors have come to see as a bellwether of sentiment towards a trade deal, rose 7% yesterday and another 6% this morning.

You can read more on the market reaction here.

Image source, PA

Head of the National Farmers' Union Minette Batters says it is "great news" that it looks like the deal will mean tariff and quota free trade between the UK and the EU.

She also welcomes news that the UK will be awarded third country listing (meaning almost all food and plant exports from Great Britain can continue after Brexit).

However she expresses concern about what the trade facilitation costs will be adding that farmers often end up bearing "the huge brunt of the risk".

She says she wants clarity on where those costs will fall.

Image source, Reuters

Chairman of Barclays UK Sir Ian Cheshire said a trade deal with the EU would allow businesses to plan for the future.

"This was pure politics. It was always the last minute sort of rabbit from the hat," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"And I'm very glad that it appears we can carry on with... our most important trading relationship."

He added: "[Businesses] are occasionally accused of not being ready, and the question is - ready for what?

"At least now we have got clarity and we can get on."

The Night Before Christmas is the more traditional reading material for 24 December, but tonight many may be getting stuck into the post-Brexit agreement text instead.

It is rumoured to be 2,000 pages long - with plenty of dense, legal text to get your teeth stuck into.

So to help out, Reality Check's Chris Morris has written a handy guide to what we should be looking out for when/if the agreement does arrive.

His list includes travel, security and, of course, fish.

A call between UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had been expected at 07:00 GMT this morning.

But our political correspondent, Iain Watson, says it is yet to take place...