EU had given ground, chief negotiator Michel Barnier said he was not "at this stage insisting the UK should repay the removal costs" for EU agencies leaving London. Under the deal, Britain will pay a financial settlement for outstanding debts and obligations, calculated and paid over time - and estimated in the media at about between £35 billion ($62 billion) and £40 billion.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker called the agreement "the breakthrough we needed" allowing the two sides to begin discussions on crucial future trade and customs arrangements. May, who may have saved her job by getting the deal done, said it had required "give and take from both sides". The Democratic Unionist Party, who scuppered a draft deal on Monday because they were concerned it would divideNorthern Ireland from the rest of the UK, have cautiously accepted the new version, saying there was "more work to be done". Their leader, Arlene Foster, said they had run out of time to go through the details of the agreement, and May had decided to go to Brussels anyway in the national interest. DUP support in Westminster is vital for May's minority government.