Britain, EU agree draft deal on Northern Irish backstop

Britain and the European Union have agreed a draft Brexit text, including a solution to the so-called backstop to prevent a return to a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.The draft deal says any such backstop arrangement, which would see Britain and the EU establishing a single customs territory, would be temporary and both sides would seek to secure a deal on a future relationship by Dec. 31, 2020, to ensure a backstop would not be necessary.